ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2019

Looking into January

Saturday, January 5th 6:30pm of the water January Usher Duty Sunday, January 6th Sunday, January 6th - Team 1: Epiphany Maria Olavarria, Kathy Foltz, Tori Foltz, Tarpon Springs Christine Klimis and Sia Klimis

Sunday, January 13th- Sunday, January 13th - Team 2: 9am Orthros Kathy Kokkinakos, Panagoula Skou- 10:00am Divine Liturgy larakos, Vicki Skoularakos and Lia Cutting of the Vasilopita Frantsvog

Sunday, January 20th - Sunday, January 20th - Team 3: 9:00am Orthros Peter Konstantakos, Nikitas Dritsos, 10:00amDivine Liturgy Kali Weaver, Michael Badea and Peter

Badea

Sunday, January 27th - Sunday, January 27th - Team 4: 9:00amOrthros Dora Komninos, Alexis Gonos, Rena 10:00am Divine Liturgy Gonos, Vicky Vantsouris and George Vantsouris

Please be on time for your Usher Duty. If you are unable to attend, please find someone to fill in for you.

Reverend Father John Stefero interim Proistamenos Reverend John Pantelis 3600 76th Street North · St. Petersburg, FL 33710 ● www.ststefanos.org 727-345-8235 ● fax: 727-345-8286 ● Email: [email protected] FROM THE DESK OF FATHER John Where Has the Time Gone?

We don’t know WHAT the future holds, but we know WHO holds the future! Author Unknown

It seems like only yesterday that Presbytera Denise and I moved from Atlanta to Florida and became part of the Saint Stefanos family. That was seven months ago! Where has the time gone? Once again we celebrate a New Year. We don’t know what the future holds (I think we’d be too anxiety prone if we did), but we DO know WHO holds the future – our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! By placing our trust and hope in Him, we will be able to handle anything that life throws our way in the New Year for He is our stable rock and foundation. As the writer of the Book of Hebrews states, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) Our Lord is waiting for us to come to Him, to truly commit ourselves to Him, to put our faith into action. As we make New Year’s resolutions, the one resolution I ask all of us to consider is to deepen our relationship with God. For some this means to begin reading the Holy Scriptures daily, for others to pray at a deeper level, still for others to worship more consistently. The 20th century Orthodox layperson, Tito Coliander, exhorts us to “draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). It is for us to begin. If we take one step towards the Lord, He takes ten steps toward us – He Who saw the Prodigal Son while he was yet at a distance, and had compassion and ran, and embraced him.” “IT IS FOR US TO BEGIN!” No one can do it for us. We ourselves have to make that decision and commitment individually. But when we do make it, we will be able to enjoy life more abundantly, be at peace with ourselves and one another, and enjoy watching how the Lord works in our lives. In this New Year, may each of you be filled with the joy and peace that only our Lord Jesus Christ can give and may His Will be done in our lives today and forever!

With love in Christ, Very Rev. John Stefero FROM OUR PARISH PRESIDENT

Dear St. Stefanos Parishioners and Friends,

Happy and Healthy New Year to all!

A new year always comes with a new hope for a new beginning, but new beginning is not only starting something new, it is more about improving upon things we started last year.

“I am grateful for all that this past year has given me. I am grateful for my family, for our Parish Council members and their support, for all our Ministry Leaders and all their love and their work with our youth, for the contributions of our adult Ministry groups, for the Bylaws committee volunteering their time and talent to review and up- date our Parish Bylaws, for our Capital Improvement committee volunteering their time and talent to make improvements in our church and educational building, for our Festival volunteers who are getting ready again to start another festival, for all our parishioners and friends who supported us throughout the year and last but not least Father John and Deacon John for all they have done for our community.

Special thanks to all the Ladies of Philoptochos who helped prepare for the reception after the St. Stefanos Vespers on Wednesday night. Special thanks to Dino Shuniak who sponsored the luncheon in memory of his brother Stephen, and the Parish Council who prepared it for the St. Stefanos Feast Day. Special thanks also to the Parish Council and the co-chairs Theordora Danzig, Dora Komninos and Soula Hareas for a fantastic New Year’s Eve event.

“Each New Year, we have before us a brand new book containing 365 blank pages. Let us fill them with all the forgotten things from last year—the words we forgot to say, the love we forgot to show, and the charity we forgot to offer.” ― Peggy Toney Horton

So, the journey continues, New Year, new blessing, and new opportunities! We have a whole new year ahead of us.

With Love in Christ,

Nicky HOUSE Saint Stefanos Greek Orthodox Church 3600 76th Street North, St. Petersburg, FL 33710 (727) 345-8235 FAX: (727) 345-8286 Reverend Father John Stefero, Interim Protopresbyter

The “Blessing of Homes” is an Orthodox Christian custom that is observed by many at Epiphany time. Through this custom, the parish is invited into one’s home to bless it with the (Agiasmos) and to pray for the health and well-being of family members as well as the sanctification and protection of their homes. Those who wish to observe this custom are encouraged to fill out the form below and re- turn it in the collection tray or to the church office. Fr. John will begin visitations January 8th. You will be contacted by telephone to confirm your visitation at a time that is mutually convenient to both you and Father John. The following should be adhered to in preparing for a house blessing: Turn off the TV and/or stereo Place a small bowl with water, a candle, an and a list of family names (see form be- low) on a table When it comes time to bless the home, one member of the family should hold the can- dle and lead the Priest to all the rooms in the house. Other family members should remain in the “prayer area” until the Priest returns The Priest will then offer a concluding prayer. Family members then make the sign of the and kiss the blessing cross. Please note: House blessings offer an opportunity for the family to get to know the priest. Feel free to spend time afterwards to ask questions or discuss any topic you may have. If you have any questions about house blessings please call Presbytera Denise at 678-464 -4833 or email her at [email protected] HOUSE BLESSING REQUEST

NAME:______PHONE:______

ADDRESS:______

CITY:______ZIP CODE:______

PLEASE RETURN TO: ST. STEFANOS HOUSE BLESSING 3600 76TH ST. N., ST. PETERSBURG, 33710 Date/Time preferred (please give two options for Father John). Someone will contact you to confirm a day/ time. 1st choice 2nd choice LIST OF NAMES TO PRAY FOR (First names only) LIVING FAMILY MEMBERS DEPARTED FAMILY MEMBERS ______GOYA and AGAPE/ PHILOPTOCHOS/ HOPE & JOY

AGAPE

HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

January meeting will be on Tuesday, January 8th, 2019 Menu: chicken, potatoes, salad, roll and birthday cake for dessert.

ST. PETERBURG AHEPA FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION SAVE THE DATE! February 9th, 2019

“Fun Night 2019”

Philoptochos Our Ladies Philoptochos, with the help of Fr. John, have been busy little elves this Christmas season. Our Visiting Angels ministry visited our shut ins, taking koulourakia, poinsettias, and some Christmas cheer! Our Christmas bake sale was also a success. We fed Ronald McDonald House near All Children's downtown. We also made toiletry baskets for female veterans at the Bay Pines VA. One of our new charities will be Fischer House at the VA, similar to a Ronald McDonald House. Our ladies celebrated the season with a luncheon at Greek Village on December 15th, which was well attended and delicious. We were so happy Fr John and Presbytera Denise could join us! In the New Year, Philoptochos will be hosting a Vassillopita luncheon on Sunday, January 13. Please plan to stay for a delicious lunch after church and enjoy homemade Vassillopita and opportunity to find the coin and receive a special blessing! All proceeds go to support St Basil Academy. We will also be baking every Thursday beginning at 9 to prepare for Festival. Please join us if you are availa- ble! We continue to write letters to our college students and seminarians monthly. We encourage all of our church members to join with us in order to fulfill the mission of the Philoptochos-- to help the poor, promote the charitable purposes of the Church, preserve the Orthodox faith, and promote participation in the activities of the St. Stefanos community. All are welcome. Our next meeting will be after church Sunday, January 20. 2019 dues are still only $35.00

The HOPE/JOY Ministry would like to thank everyone for your generous gifts and donations to help 43 chil- dren in Foster Care at the Sally House. Your outpouring of compassion for these children was so touching! Thank you again on behalf of all those children whose Christmas will be a little bit brighter because of you. God bless you always. With gratitude,

Kristine Konstantakos Theodora Danzing Monika Spantidakis

SHARINGSHARING TALENTS TALENTS

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 St. John Chrysostom highlights that true wealth comes through sharing what we have first received from God Himself. Some of us may be surprised when we are told that ultimately, whatever we possess isn’t ours at all! All is God’s, and we are simply caretakers of His assets. As we learn to generously give of ourselves (time and talents), we will soon want to give more of our treasure. For giving is a matter of faith – faith in action; action motivated by our humble gratitude to God for His blessings in our life. God has given us each special and unique gifts. Sharing these gifts is a means of giving back to God what is rightfully His. Several members of our congregation recently did precisely that when they organized, gathered into our Narthex, and cleaned and painted the Narthex. They shared their time and abilities by removing and covering several years of candle soot that had accumulated. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 Stewardship implies temporary custody and then relinquishing custody of the mystery of our faith and its vessel, the church, over to another generation. As temporary stewards, therefore, during our tenure, we are all called to do just that.

Hardly is the word “Stewardship” uttered among us in our Community without each of us in such a discussion reaching for their checkbooks or wallets to offer “treasure”. Remember, all of us have talents and time as well that we can offer back to our Creator.

With God’s Grace, as we say farewell to the year 2018, please review our annual Stewardship solicitation. Pray about the list and ask God to assist you to take special notice of your many talents; check the ones that you wish to share with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For at the end of our lives, we will be rewarded by how well we handled what God has entrusted to us.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” I Peter 4:10

Sat

6:30pm Divine Lit- Divine 6:30pm Blessing and urgy water the of Rental Hall 5 12 19 26

Fri

10:00am Prayer Prayer 10:00am group Prayer 10:00am group Prayer 10:00am group Prayer 10:00am group 4 11 18 25

Thu

7:00pm Choir 7:00pm Practice Choir 7:00pm Practice Choir 7:00pm Practice Choir 7:00pm Practice 3 10 17 24 31

Wed

UAW

4:30pm Greek Greek 4:30pm School Greek 4:30pm School D.O.P./Ahepa 6:30 Mtg Greek 4:30pm School Greek 4:30pm School 2 9 16 23 30

January2019

Tue

12:00pm Agape 12:00pm Greek 4:30pm School Meeting P.C. 6:30 Greek 4:30pm School Greek 4:30pm School Greek 4:30pm School 1 8 15 22 29

Mon

4:30pm Greek Greek 4:30pm School Greek 4:30pm School Greek 4:30pm School Greek 4:30pm School 7 14 21 28

Sun-

gy

Sun

Vasilopita

900am Orthros 900am

10:00am Divine Litur-

day Divine 10:00am Liturgy Orthros 9:00am Divine 10:00am Liturgy 6 13 20 9:00am Orthros Philoptochos Meeting 27 ST. STEFANOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 3600 76th Street North St. Petersburg, Florida 33710 www.ststefanos.org • E-mail: [email protected]

Return Address Requested

Choir notes: We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope that you have been enjoy- ing the Christmas carols as Father John is passing out the bread. Our choir once again went carol- ling to several nursing homes on December 20th. This year we went to the Jacaranda Manor and Seasons Largo, where we were well received. We were happy to sing at the Christmas Eve service, and had our Christmas party at John's again this year! If anyone is interested in praising God through song, please come join us in the New Year. All levels of musical training can sing in our choir! Practices are in the church choir loft on Thurs- days at 7 and in the hall before church at 9:15. The more the merrier!