THE ANNUNCIATION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH THE FIRST GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IN CONNECTICUT

The Good News FR. EVAN EVANGELIDIS, PASTOR

1230 NEWFIELD AVE, STAMFORD, CT 06905 + TELEPHONE: 203-322-2093 + FAX: 203-968-6632 EMAIL: OFFICE@ANNUNCIATIONOFSTAMFORD.ORG + WEB PAGE:ANNUNCIATIONOFSTAMFORD.ORG

OCTOBER 2013

WORSHIP SERVICES IN OCTOBER

October 6th Sunday 9:00 am Orthros 10:00 am Divine Liturgy October 13th Sunday 9:00 am Orthros 10:00 am Divine Liturgy October 18th Friday – St. Luke 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy October 20th Sunday 9:00 am Orthros 10:00 am Divine Liturgy October 23rd Weds– St. Iakovos 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy October 26th Sat – St. Demetrios 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Divine Liturgy October 27th Sunday 9:00 am Orthros 10:00 am Divine Liturgy

Fr. Evan’s Corner I am so happy that the first issue of The Good News, the monthly newsletter of our church community, is finally out. Its purpose is to increase communication between our various church organizations and our members so that they may co-operate more effectively and give everyone an opportunity to get involved in the spiritual and cultural life of our church and our community. Our community has worked hard to meet the challenge of being a church, first and foremost, and leading by example. We are an extended family of faith that receives its blessings from God and in in fellowship with one another. We encourage all who walk through our doors to take part in the sacramental, spiritual and cultural life of the Church so that they may "become partakers of the divine nature" and save their souls (2 Peter 1:4). As you read this, it is my sincere hope that you will actively join us in this important mission. ------------------------------------------------------------------

Philoptochos

The Ladies Philoptochos Society is the

philanthropic arm of the Greek Orthodox

Church in America. As a benevolent and

charitable society, its been making a

difference in people’s lives for over 80

years. Philoptochos literally means

“friend of the poor.” The organization’s

mission is to help the poor, the orphaned,

the widowed, the hungry, the aged, the

sick, the imprisoned, the handicapped,

the victims of disasters, to bury

impoverished persons and to offer

assistance to anyone who asks for the

Church’s help. Philoptochos has over

485 chapters and 27,500 members

nationwide. home.

Our community Philoptochos has

distributed over $11,000 dollars to local

and national charities last year. It had the

distinct honor of hosting the Biennial

Direct Archdiocesan District

Philoptochos Conference and Seminar

on September 28th. This was an all-day

gathering that brought together over 100

participants to our community from all

over New York State Connecticut,

Washington, DC and the Bahamas to

discuss better ways of fulfilling their

mission. All women 18yrs and over,

wishing to make a difference, are

encouraged to join Philoptochos!

The next Philoptochos meeting is

on Monday, October 14th

at 7pm. On

Saturday, October 19th

Philoptochos is

having its annual Tag Sale from 9am

to 4pm. Donations can still be made.

Please drop off your gently used items

by Friday, October 18th. Anyone selling

their own items is asked to give a $25

dollar donation. For further info, please

contact Tina Scarpelli at 203-322-5303. ------------------------------------------------------------------

School Committee

The Greek School Committee met over the summer to interview candidates for Interim Director to replace Penelope Venetsanos who, after many decades of distinguished service to our community, recently retired as Director and Teacher of our Greek School. Interviews were also conducted to replace Areti Panages who resigned to be with her family. In mid-August, the Committee hired Georgios Argyratos as Interim Director and Teacher, Katherine Dillulio as Teacher, and Agapi Theodorodou as Teacher. They have joined returning teachers Ioanna and Despina Kreatsoulas on the teaching staff. Georgios Argyratos has degrees in Journalism and in Opera Performance. He is a professional Opera Singer and a teacher at the William Spyropoulos Greek American School in Flushing. He will continue as Music Director, in addition to serving as Interim Director and Teacher. Ioanna Kreatsoulas attended the University of Athens and Hunter

College. She taught Greek School at St. Basil’s Academy, the Westchester Hellenic Association and at the Kimisis Church in Poughkeepsie. Her background is in philosophy, Greek and Spanish Language and Literature. Despina Kreatsoulas studied dance at the University of Athens. She has over a decade of experience as a professional dancer, instructor and teacher. Katerina Dillulio has a Master’s Degree in Education and 6 years teaching experience. Her background is in Childhood education and ESL. As a member of the Annunciation church community, Katerina has three children enrolled in our Greek School. Agapi Theodoridou has a master’s degree from the University of Thessaloniki and 21 years teaching experience. Her background is in philosophy, Greek and German language and literature. -----------------------------------------------------------------

PTA

Invites all families with children to the Annunciation Greek Language and Culture School Open House, on Friday, October 4th immediately after Greek School from 6 to 7:30pm. Please come, meet the teachers and learn about our school’s instructional immersion program. The PTA Board agreed at its first meeting to operate with the notion of happiness. The school and everyone involved makes the environment a happy one and a fun one; learning is fun, so on that note, we shall live and learn together, and our “Immersion” theme will naturally develop accordingly! The PTA will host our school’s “OXI Day” celebration luncheon on October 27th – SAVE THE DATE! This is a fund raiser to support the community Christmas Party. -------------------------------------------------------------------

Greek School

Greek School has gotten off to a

wonderful and exciting start. The

program has 51 registered students and

is looking forward to more. Already in

the third week of classes, everything is

moving along nicely. Preparations are

also underway for our OXIDAY

celebration on Sunday, October 27th.

We are also getting ready for our "Open

House" on Friday, October 4th from

6pm - 7:30pm, so that you can meet our

new teachers in person, get introduced

to this year's curriculum and interact

with other Greek School parents and

community members. Our PTA will

have pizza, salad and refreshments for

all and we generously thank them!

Sunday School

Sunday School is an important ministry

of the Church. Its purpose is to teach our

children about their Greek Orthodox

Christian Faith. Sunday School instills

the love of Christ in their hearts,

encourages them to take part in the

sacramental, spiritual and ethical life of

the Church and builds a solid Christian

foundation for making good choices in

the future. We’re happy to report that we

have found people to teach Sunday

School and would like to thank Vaso

Bakis for teaching PreK & K; Helen

Vlahakis for teaching 1st & 2

nd; George

Zoumboulis for teaching 3rd

& 4th;

Joanna Gabriel for teaching 5th & 6

th;

and Vicky & Stanley Sakellson for

teaching 7th and 8

th. We also thank

Angela Tournas and Sophia Sikiotis for

becoming assistant teachers and our

many substitute teachers as well.

Sunday School classes begin on

Sunday, October 6th

. Please register

your child for Sunday School.

Registration forms are also on our

church’s website.

GOYA

Welcome everyone! GOYA is geared up to have a great year. Our first meeting of the year is on Sunday, October 13th right after church. All teens in the 7th to 12th grades are invited to join and get involved. GOYA’s mission is to help teens strengthen their Greek Orthodox faith so that they can use it to overcome life’s challenges. We usually host the coffee hour on the 2nd Sunday of the month and have our meeting at this time too. Please bring a dessert to donate to coffee hour, if you can. Elections are planned for our first meeting and talking about our car wash fundraiser on Saturday, October 19th. We hope to have fun at dances this year, participate in several community service projects and organize a ski trip in the winter. We also have a surprise big fundraiser in the Spring. It will be fun. We use our funds to donate to worthy causes and for our end of the year trip. So, come and hang with your friends or make new ones and see what the fun is all about! If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Boutsikoudis, Tina Scarpelli or George Zoumboulis.

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Hope/Joy

HOPE/JOY is ready to kick off another year! Our first gathering is on Friday, October 18th from 6-8:30 pm. The theme is “Making a Difference”. The children will learn that they can do good to others, no matter how small their service may be, that they show a love for God by loving others and that they can accomplish this in small ways every day! HOPE if for children in preschool through the 2nd grade. JOY is for children in 3rd through 6th grades. The mission of these ministries is to teach children about their Greek Orthodox faith and to strengthen their relationship with Jesus Christ, outside of church services and in a more social environment. Children have an opportunity to share in games, arts and crafts together and with Father Evan, along with sharing a meal with their friends. Last year, the kids collected donations for the victims of

Hurricane Sandy. They included encouraging letters to the children of these communities and were very excited to receive letters back from them! (These letters are posted on the bulletin board in the upstairs hallway of the church.) We have lots of ideas for a fun and fulfilling year! We can’t wait to see familiar and new faces at our first meeting on Fri, Oct. 18th at 6pm! If you have any questions or like to volunteer your time, donate a meal for one of our events, please contact Stacey Karipides at skaripides@optonline. -------------------------------------------------------------------

YAL

YAL strives to keep our young adults involved in the life of the church and to reintroduce the church to those whose lives have taken them away. Young adults are often in a state of transition. Church gets replaced with school, careers, relationships and money. A successful YAL ministry strives to integrate them within the church while meeting their individual needs. Young Adults can discuss these challenges and share fun fellowship at the YAL conference hosted by St. Paul’s Cathedral in Hempstead, NY from Fri, Oct 18th to Sun, Oct 20th. Some event highlights are “Orthodoxy on Tap”, “crop walk for hunger” and a dinner dance on Saturday night. Registration is $99 dollars. Our next meeting is on Wednesday, October 23rd at 7pm. All YAL members are encouraged to attend. ------------------------------------------------------------------

AHEPA

Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 9, at 7:30pm at the Annunciation Church. Please make reservations for our “Passing the Torch” fundraiser on October 26th, a dinner-dance at the Norwalk Inn for the benefit of our Greek Schools and the Greek Relief Fund. It will be similar to the very popular event we had last year. We plan to honor the Father/Son or Father/Son-in-Law pairs who are AHEPAns in any chapter. Along with our current father/son, and/or father/son-in-law members, prospective honorees will include new members who join by October 10th. For reservations, contributions (album ads) or membership, please contact Nicholas Nikas 203-554-5570 orniketes@yahoo.com.AHEPA

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Daughters of Penelope

Greek Women of Fairfield County are invited to attend an informational meeting on the Daughters of Penelope on Thursday, October 24th at our church at 7pm. Maria Zorsos is leading the effort to start a Southern Fairfield County Chapter. Hartford, Waterbury, and New Britain have had a chapter for many years. The Daughters of Penelope promotes family and individual excellence, philanthropy, education, Hellenism, and civic responsibility. It brings together women of all ages to work together and provide opportunities for education through scholarship and community service. Maria is working hard to get the Stamford, Norwalk & Greenwich women to participate. The Governor and Regional Heads will be at our church on Thursday, October 24th at 7pm to discuss the merits of this wonderful organization and how to get one started in our area. We hope to see you there. If you have any questions, contact Maria Zorsos at mzorzos@msn.com or at 203-253-9262.

Please visit their website for more info at www.daughtersofpenelope.org ------------------------------------------------------------------

Maintenance Committee

Our maintenance committee has the

important task of organizing the repair

and maintenance of our 35 year old

church facility. Recently, they have

undertaken the pointing and re-grouting

of our church dome, replaced our hot

water tank, updated our fire alarm, fixed

our parking lot lights and done minor

repair and maintenance on a rolling

basis. They have also undertaken the

important task of replacing our oil tank.

Our church facility, after 35 years, is

showing many visible signs of wear and

tear and a lot of work is needed. Some of

the capital improvements needed in the

future are the resurfacing of our

driveway, the re-grouting and re-

pointing of our church facility, repairing

the slate to our church entrance and patio

area, replacing the hallway entrance

doors to the church and the emergency

doors in the gym, renovating our

bathrooms and installing a surveillance

system.

We not only need money to

accomplish these tasks, but a community

desire and vision to implement a plan

that maintains our church facility for

future generations. If you wish to help

your church in this important task, please

contact Harry Seitaridis or Fr. Evan to

become a part of the maintenance

committee. Your church needs you! -------------------------------------------------------------------

Scholarship Committee

The Scholarship Committee has been

meeting since the Spring. Its mission is to

oversee the handling and distribution of

scholarship funds that are generously

donated by various members and friends of

our community. Our first order of business

formalized the guidelines used to determine

the scholarship recipients. We are working

with the Church's webmaster to update the

scholarship information available from its

website and to post the new guidelines,

applications and deadlines. Our next

meeting is on Weds, October 2nd

, at 6pm!

GOOD NEWS DEADLINE Organizations of our church community and its members can sumbit news, anouncements, pictures of events and happenings in our local parish and in the greater Stamford community to info@annunciationofstamford.org. Items must be received by the 20th of every month to be included in the following month’s issue.

Ballroom Dance Lessons

An introductory ballroom dance course (Fox

Trot, Tango, Rumba, and Cha-Cha) began

meeting at our church on Friday’s from 6:30-

7:30 pm. Despina Kreatsoulas, our very

talented and energetic Greek School dance

teacher, teaches the class. Despina is a

certified dance instructor with a passion for

dance and over a decade of teaching

experience. She has her own dance studio in

Somers, NY. The course costs $100 per

person and is appropriate for adults, couples,

singles, and teens over 14. The next classes are

on Friday, October 4th & 18

th at 6:30pm. For

more info, please contact Despina at 914-471-

5343 or at despkreatsoulas@hotmail.com.