THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE NOVEMBER 2013 Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church PO Box 427 Newport, RI 02840 tel: (401) 846-0555, fax: (401) 841-0960 www.stspyridonchurch.org PAGE 2 THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE S AINT SPYRIDON GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH www.stspyridonchurch.org Reverend Dr. George E. Economou [email protected] Office Hours Priest: Tuesday & Thursday, 10 a.m. —1 p.m. ; For emergencies, call (401) 474-7700 (cell) Church secretary, Ellen Anagnostos: Tuesday & Thursday, 9 a.m.—1 p.m. Parish Council President: Zoe Adamedes Eleni Anagnostopoulos Chanters: George Spiratos Loula Eliopoulos Basile Panoutsopoulos Thanasi Stefanopoulos Choir Director: Paul Cotsoridis Basile Panoutsopoulos Organist: Jane Iandolo VOICE: Aliki Cooper ([email protected]) Religious Education: Marianne Menas Stewardship: Dr. James Rozes Affiliated Organizations Philoptochos President: Zinovia Canale AHEPA President: Michael Sisak Acolytes: Theodore Panoutsopoulos Daughters of Penelope President: GOYA President: Missy Mellekas Penelope Hiotas JOY Advisor: Sandy Giannopoulos Island of Skiathos Organization: Soup Kitchen: Sofi Cofield, Rose Apostal, Christina Logothets Penny Hiotas and Jane Iandolo Greek School: SERVICE TIMES Sunday Winter Hours Orthros 9 a.m. Divine Liturgy 10 a.m. Weekday Festal Celebrations: Vespers—7 p.m.* Orthros—9 a.m. Divine Liturgy—10 a.m. * Note: Holy Confession is available by appointment. The Saint Spyridon Voice is a monthly publication of St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church, 390 Thames St., Newport, RI 02840 NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 3 FROM THE PASTOR’ S DESK Let us Give Thanks Unto the Lord Lord, I lift up my soul above the din and clamor of vanity on this Thanksgiving day; open my eyes, clarify my mind and motivate my spirit that I may recall my many blessings over the journey that I have traveled. Then, Surely, with a smile on my face, gratitude in my heart, sincerity in my thoughts and restful peace in my soul, I will thank Thee: FOR daily sustenance; the ability to walk into my home as a provider and to merit that rewarding look of a nourished child’s face. FOR shelter that transforms the fearful thud of falling rain into a lullaby. FOR raiment that changes the frosty bite of winter into the caressing touch of comfort. FOR health that transforms painful agonies into hopeful pursuits. FOR faith and guidance which, like a candle, has led me out of the dark labyrinths of my transgressions into illuminated highways of Christian purposes. FOR peace of mind by day and restful sleep by night through the deliverance from my many sins. FOR banishing fear from my heart and preventing from happening the things that I came to dread. FOR lifting me with Thy Hand from the edge of the abyss of despair, and shining in my way the light of hope. FOR the church of my fathers; those who founded her, maintained her, enlarged her, beautified her, and enriched her, with their labors. FOR the country of my ancestry and the heritage she has bequeathed to me, which has worth and dignity. FOR this, my country, that fearlessly champions every God given right and every moral and humane cause; where the will of the people reigns supreme; where, even if the President dies, the Presidency never does. Where tragedy is succeeded by greatness, despair by decision, complacency by rededication. Where every man can make his contribution in freedom. FOR friends near and far who individually and collectively, personally, and nationally help me smile in my adversity, temper my disaster with their sympathy, warm my heart with their embrace. Grant that memories of sorrows consoled, catastrophes averted, joys experienced, and tears shed become no mere incidents on an aimless course, but permanent landmarks of Thy Exceeding Grace, on our way, in Jesus Christ our Lord. FOR all these, Lord, I thank thee! PAGE 4 THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE I N OUR PARISH Wedding Gregory F. Brown and Sara L. Halsall were married on October 13, 2013. Gregory's brother Kevin was the Koumbaro. Congratulations to the Brown and Halsall families. Anniversary Congratulations to Tina and Frank Fowler who celebrated their 50th anniversary on October 6, 2013. We wish them many, many more years! Death On October 16, Michael Sisak., father of parishioner Michael Sisak, fell asleep in the Lord in Pennsylvania. In addition to his son Michael, Mr. Sisak survived by his daughter Nancy and granddaughter Natalie. Our sincere condolences to Michael and his family. May his memory be eternal. S OUP KITCHEN NEWS Dear Friends, Please call or email Sofi Cofield to sign up to help at this month's soup kitchen—this month it is on Monday, November 11th— (401 847 8593 / [email protected] ) Thank you for your help in our Ministry, St. Spyridon Soup Kitchen Team Rose Apostal, Sofi Cofield , Penny Hiotas, and Jane Iandolo 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF OUR PARISH In September 2015, our Parish will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. Although it may be a bit early, we'd like to get started with the planning as soon as possible. If you are interested in helping with the planning of the various celebratory activities to honor this anniversary, please contact the church office or send an email to [email protected]. An organizational meeting will most likely be scheduled for after the New Year. NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 5 CHURCH CHRISTMAS CARD We will again be printing a Community Christmas Card as a small fundraiser for our parish. The cost to have your name printed in the card will be $15 per line. Please use the form below and send it to the Church office as soon as possible. The deadline is December 1st. We would appreciate any extra donations toward the poinsettias that we use to decorate the church for the Christmas season. Thank you for your generosity. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS CARD DONATION NAME (please print) _____________________________________________________ Amount $___________________ Telephone number ___________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COFFEE THANK YOU A big thank you to all who have donated coffee for our coffee hours. It is much appreciated and we now have enough coffee to, hopefully, last through the first of the year! DOXA CONFERENCE - NOVEMBER 16, 2013 DOXA, the Religious Education Association of the Metropolis of Boston, hosts a confer- ence each fall and spring. The topic of this fall's seminar is "Energizing the Teacher". The conference is for catechetical teachers and all interested adults. Please see the flyers on the information table in the Church hall. HOLIDAY BAZAAR St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox church in Pawtucket will hold their Holiday Bazaar on November 8, 9 and 10, 2013 featuring Middle Eastern food and pastries. The church is located at 249 High Street Pawtucket. Phone 401.726.1202 for more information. PAGE 6 THE SAINT SPYRIDON VOICE WHAT IS THE CHURCH? (A brief summary by Fr. Philip Symaris, Professor of Liturgics at Holy Cross School of Theology, based on material from the book written by theologian Alexander Katsiaras, "What is the Church?") We have celebrated together in the great feasts of Christmas, Theophany, and Pascha. In June, we completed the cycle of major feasts of the year in our celebrations of Ascension and Pentecost. In these feasts, we experienced liturgically the whole story of salvation as God has designed it for us. So we started with the birth of Christ (Christmas) and ended up with Pentecost which is the birth of the Church! Now that we have celebrated the reality of the Church it is a good time to ask: What exactly is the Church? The appearance of the Church as we know it of course, as we mentioned, occurred at the first Pentecost as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. But the truth of the matter is that, according to the theology of our Church, the Church existed before this time also. It turns out that according to the Fathers of the Church, the Church existed even before the Incarnation, that is to say, even before the birth of Christ at Christmas. What kind of Church do they mean here? Let us first look at the word Church "Ekklisia" etymologically. This is a compound word consisting of the preposition "ek" and the verb "kalo" (ek & kalo) which means, I invite, I call together, I gather together. Indeed, in the ancient Greek world the word "Ekklisia" referred to the gathering of all the people. In the New Testament the word Church is referred to in Acts 19:32, 39 and in St. Paul's First letter to the Corinthians 11:18. Here the word Church refers to the faithful, to the community of believers who responded to the calling of Christ, who see this calling of Christ as their whole reason for being as the whole reason for everything that has ever been created and existed. "The word Church was used to express this new glorious reality" (Florovsky, The Body of Christ). The truth is that, although we have these references to the Church in the New Testament and in many other places in the writings of the Fathers of the Church, we never have a full definition of what the Church actually is in the classical sense of a definition. Neither in Scripture nor in the Ecumenical councils do we find a specific definition besides the reference in the Symbol of Faith: “I believe in One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.” This is not due to any sort of literary weakness or inability of the Fathers of the Church, rather this is due to the sense that the Church is not an object, a thing or an idea or ideology that one can easily define. A great theologian, Florovsky, said that the issue of a definition was never broached because “we have no need to define that which is totally clear by nature.