Proistamenos: Fr. Douglas Papulis ST. NICHOLAS (314) 974-4613 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Parish Priest: Fr. Michael Arbanas (314) 425-9641 ST. NICHOLAS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 4967 FOREST PARK AVENUE Church/FLC Office: (314) 361-6924 ST. LOUIS, MO 63108 Church Fax: (314) 361-3539 Office Administrator: Gracie Livaditis ST. NICHOLAS FAMILY LIFE CENTER Bookkeeper: Diane Winkler 12550 S. FORTY DRIVE ST. LOUIS, MO 63141 Email: [email protected] Website: www.sngoc.org March 2019 Volume 23- Number 3 Saturday of the Souls: Remembering Our Loved Ones as a Community By Father Michael Arbanas When our loved ones die, we grieve because we love them. It’s appropriate, natural and painful. And in our tradition, we mourn together, gathering to pray for the departed and singing with one voice, “May their memory be eternal.” The Good News of the Resurrection – the goal of the Lenten journey we’re about to begin – is that God’s love is stronger than death. Christ’s Resurrection is the beginning of the resurrection of all humanity, including our departed loved ones and even ourselves. Our love, when it’s genuine, is an image of God’s love; it, too, is stronger than death. In love, our departed family members continue to be part of our lives, and in the Christian tradition, we express this ongoing connection in our worship. Every time we receive Holy Communion, we join ourselves with all of our departed loved ones, and all Christians who have received Christ’s Body and Blood, from the very beginning of the Church and throughout the whole world. No barrier – distance, time or even death – is great enough to break this bond of love and faith. The Saturday of the Souls is the most dramatic expression we have that we treasure this connection – that our loved ones’ memory will really be eternal. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, we have a Memorial Service and pray – by name – for all the departed family members and loved ones of the people at the service. How do we know their names? Our parishioners bring lists, with a cross at the top and the first or baptismal names of their departed loved ones below. (Often, they make a small dish of koliva – boiled wheat – and add it to the large bowl of koliva at the front of the church in memory of their loved ones. This is a beautiful custom, and we encourage it, but please don’t hesitate to come and bring your names if you’re unable to make koliva.) At first, it can seem overwhelming; all these names! But soon, we have a feeling not unlike walking around St. Matthew’s Cemetery after a funeral. We’ve started with the person who’s being buried, but soon we’re stopping by the graves of other loved ones, then reading the names of others from our community buried nearby, and we remember all of them. They’re alive to God and to us. When we gather for the Saturday of the Souls, we’re expressing a firm faith that our loved ones – here, in Europe or Africa or anywhere else in the world, and through the generations – are part of one community of faith, bound by our love for them, our Christian love for each other in the pews, and God’s love for all of us. There are three Saturdays of the Souls this month: March 2, 9 and 16. We encourage all of our parishioners to attend at least one of these services. On the first one, March 2, the special hymns in the Liturgy focus on our departed loved ones. On that day, the JOY will sponsor a special explanation after church of koliva (boiled wheat) and its role in remembering our loved ones. Lunch will be provided for the 3rd-5th graders, but everyone is welcome. 1 . St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Monthly Bulletin March 2019 St. Nicholas Servants 2019 PARISH BOARD Teddy Hart, President 314-914-7711 Carol Kamburis, Vice-President Chris Sarantakis, Secretary *Newsletter Reminder* Helen Carey, Treasurer Please remember if you have something to go in the newsletter, please email all George Ellis, DDS Asst. Treasurer articles to Gracie no later than the 10th of the month at: [email protected] John Davis Yemane Habtu Jonathan Hartley Marilynn Jemas Tinna King, MD Bill Mastorakos, DDS, MS SCHOLARSHIPS Joseph Palazzola ST. NICHOLAS SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION: Pete Stavrides, MD Stephanie Tyler The St. Nicholas Scholarship applications for 2019 are now Kon Vellios available! For questions and to apply, please call the Church AUDIT COMMITTEE office or email us! The application is also online at Mark Vleisides, Chairperson 314-576-2898 Adonis Chakides www.sngoc.org Roxana Couternais Peter Lemakis AHEPA SCHOLARSHIP: The St. Louis AHEPA Scholarship Janet Papageorge CEMETERY COMMITTEE Foundation is now accepting applications for 2019. Please William Karides, Chairperson 314-422-1968 email Basil Pappas at: [email protected] for an Janet Hunnius application. Note the deadline for applications to be Irene Schildroth CHURCH SCHOOL Co-Directors returned with all applicable material is April 15th with NO Bess Fitzmaurice 636-343-3849 exceptions. Preference is given to first time applicants. Despina Hartley 618-447-6548 DANCE TROUPE Georgia Johnson 314-832-0061 ELECTION COMMITTEE Tina Paradowski , Chairperson 314-781-0781 Kathy Forsting Paul Leara Becky Liringis Mark Vleisides GREETERS COMMITTEE Lyndia Finer, Director 314-960-3384 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) Jonathan Hartley 618-520-9569 Demetrios Tsikalas LIBRARY COMMITTEE HOLY WATER BOTTLES Elaine Coulson, Chairperson 314-991-5033 Please return your empty Holy Water Bottles to the Church or Family Life Michael Doran Center Office so we can reuse them for next year! Thank you! Chris Zaharias “NEXT 100” Dan Tarlas , Chairperson 314-713-5500 PHILOPTOCHOS Carol Kamburis, President 314-803-2451 Looking for an easy way to help pay down the debt? PHYSICAL FACILITIES -CHURCH Dino Pappas, Chairperson 314-701-8118 Join the $54-A-Month Club! Jonathan Hartley If enough parishioners were to set up a monthly $54 auto draft from Pat Johnson PHYSICAL FACILITIES –FLC their bank checking account or charge to a credit card, Nick Tharenos, Chairperson 314-576-7011 we could cover our monthly mortgage payment. Demos Argyros Nick Koskolos PLANNED GIVING COMMITTEE YOU can contribute to our monthly mortgage payment, Christina Anastas 314-647-4636 Andrew Galakatos, MD 314-922-4457 for only $54 a month! Harry Lemakis 314-631-1619 Please contact Diane at the Church office at 314.361.6924 Basil Pappas 314-368-6026 Leon Spanos 314-966-5176 Chris Varvares 314-374-3647 PRISON MINISTRY Clark Porter, Director 314-518-6747 SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE Denise Karras, Chairperson 314-368-4205 Barbara Corrigan Peter Takes STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE Fr. Doug Papulis Fr. Michael Arbanas Mary Ann Mastorakos WEBSITE Rosie Hartley 618-239-9359 2 . St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Monthly Bulletin March 2019 PRESIDENT’S NOTES – Teddy Hart It’s hard to believe that it’s already March! Hopefully by the time • The gym roof replacement has been delayed by weather! The you read this, the trees have begun to bud and the daffodils and roofers need a sold week+ of good weather in order to start on crocus are nodding their heads and smiling. It’s the promise of the job. It’s prudent to be confident that the removal and spring that renews the spirit, as we prepare to enter into our replacement can be done without incurring inclement weather. wonderful Lenten season and glorious Pascha. • Nursery renovations continue. We apologize for the length of If you have not yet made your 2019 Stewardship pledge, please time it has taken to complete this project, but we are very close do so! Remember that our St. Nicholas Operating Income (which to being finished! We thank our volunteers who have been includes our Ministries) comes from your Stewardship. If you giving their time and talents to brighten and improve our have misplaced your pledge form, you may get another one Nursery and bride preparations area. from the church office. • We addressed several issues regarding our Family Life Center: We held our last Parish Council meeting on January 15. Here are Reviewed proposals and selected new vendors for our some meeting highlights plus other bits of information since my HVAC and Landscaping services. It’s important that we last update: review our contracted services’ cost and performance • We have several initiatives underway that resulted from a information on a regular basis to ensure that we remain good stewards of our parish’s funds. team-building/brainstorming session held last summer. One of them is reaching out to young adults in the community, ages Replaced our previously owned old copy machine with a 22 to 36, to find out what they want from their church. The more cost-effective leased machine. goal is to offer ministry programs and services that matter to them. If you’re interested in sharing your thoughts, please call Repaired the peeling paint in the chapel ceiling, and more Stephanie Benos Tyler at 314-496-9090. investigation will ensue to determine the root cause of any additional damage to the ceiling. • Our antiphonal choir setup (two alternating choirs – men’s and If YOU would like to participate in the planning or execution of women’s) has been in place for several months now at church, any of the above listed activities in the future or on an on-going and the Family Life Center Chapel was recently updated to basis, please contact me! include the necessary equipment for the two choirs as well. We are here to serve through the Grace of God and for the • We are forming a new Ad-Hoc Planned Giving committee benefit of our beloved Parish.