SS. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church

August 2015

Saints Peter Paul Greek Orthodox Church 1401 Wagner Road

Glenview, Il 60025 Phone: (847) 729-2235 Fax: (847) 729-6562

office@ssppglenview.org www.ssppglenview.org

Rev. Father Panagiotis Boznos, Proistamenos (frp@ssppglenview.org) Fr. Andrew Kearns Dn. Ted Saclarides

Michael Kallis, Youth Director (mk@ssppglenview.org)

Office Administrator: Jeannine McIntyre Office Assistant: Toula Garbis

Bookkeeper: Diane Bravos

Sunday &Weekly Services Matins 8:15 am

Divine Liturgy 9:30 am Church Office Hours:

Mon.-Thurs. 8:30am-4:30pm Fri. 8:30am - 3:00pm

PARISH MINISTRIES

2015 PARISH COUNCIL

Frank Andreou George Nassos Chris Atsaves John Nikitas George Kirie Nicole Olds Mary Ann Langas Louis Pappamichiel Nicholas Mechales Nick Paterakos Therese Speropoulos

James Santos, President Jim Gottreich, Vice President Steve Koulogeorge, Treasurer Demete Papson, Assistant Treasurer Christy Gouletas, Assistant Treasurer Keith Anderson, Recording Secretary Fritz Freidinger, Corresponding Secretary

Rev. Father Panagiotis Boznos, Proistamenos

Please telephone the Church office (847) 729-2235 during daytime hours for all spiritual emergencies. For evening emergencies contact Fr. Panagiotis at (630) 664-2173. God bless you always!

Dynamis Group: Gail Kachoyeanos

Georgia Photopulos Cancer Support Group:

Bud Photopulos and Phyllis Perivolidis

Greek School: Stella Theoharopoulos (847) 803-4792

Morning Bible Study: Dr. Helen Theodoropoulos

OPA: Rev. Fr. Panagiotis Boznos

Organist: Helen Mariano

Outreach: Mary Ann Langas

Philoptochos President: Georgia Ryerson

PROSPHORA: Calliope Prekezes

Stewardship: Frank Andreau

Ushering: Bo LaMotte and George Kirie

Youth Ministries: Michael Kallis

Agape Preschool: Renee Tzakis (847) 729-5814 Altar Boys: Deacon Ted Saclarides, Elias Papadakis Athletics: Chris Atsaves Book & Icon Store: Pat Nassos Choir Director: Therese Speropoulos Church School Coordinators: Cynthia Olson Angela Schmidt Louis Pappapichiel Coffee Connection Dr. Helen Theodoropoulos Rand Anderson Doreen Desent John Colis Coffee Fellowship: Lucy Economos (847) 827-5593

he host of Angels were astonished when they beheld in Sion their own Master holding in His hands the soul of a woman; for as befitted a Son, He

said to her that purely gave Him birth: Come, O modest maid, be thou glorified with thy Son and God. (Troparion, 9th ode of Matins on August 15th)

The image of the Virgin Mary with which we are probably the most familiar is an Icon where she is holding a young Christ in her arms. Very rarely is she depicted in another posture, and this is to emphasize her role in carrying Christ into the world, to meet and heal humanity. Yet, at the feast of her falling asleep (August 15th) the image is reversed. It is now Christ who carries His mother.

Valuable lessons can be learned from these reciprocal acts of carrying. At His birth, although He is God, Christ “emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2.7). He voluntarily submitted His divine self to the limits and limitations of our humanity. That means embracing vulnerability in His humanity. As such, His mother holds him securely. She nurtures and protects her God. She carries Him into her home and provides for His comfort.

As the above hymn and Icon depict, at her falling asleep, Christ assumes the role of embracing nurturer. He holds the Theotokos’ soul in His hands and ferries her to heaven, where His presence will continually protect and nourish her.

If we understand that the Church is the body of Christ, then we can appreciate that by holding Christ in her hands, the Theotokos

symbolically holds all of humanity. As she embraces her Son, she embraces each and every person created in His image and likeness. Thus, she is the mother of God, and at the same time our mother.

Returning again, to the image of the Theotokos being carried by Christ, we can

recognize that by carrying His mother, Christ is also carrying ours. In life, the Theotokos ushered her Son into the world to bring him to his people. In death, the Theotokos is ushered by her Son into paradise to bring his people to him.

For this reason the Church holds the Theotokos in the highest

of esteem. In times of trouble, let us run to her and ask that she carry us and our prayers to her Son, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

+ Fr. Panagiotis

T

Q&A with Fr. Panagiotis Father. I wish you would address the subject of cremation in the Orthodox Church. – T.T. What are the church's thoughts on cremation? – M.C.

Cremation, as a practice is very ancient. It is in fact the preferred means of “burial” inmany faiths (Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, etc.), but has never been deemed appropriate in theOrthodox Church. The difference in opinions on cremation in these religions stems from contraryunderstandings of what it is to be a human and what is the salvation to which we are looking.Faiths that have traditionally practice cremation root the essence of the person, in their soulalone. On the other hand, the Orthodox Church has forever affirmed that the human person is theunion of soul and body.

Our bodies are as integral to our identity as our soul. That is what makes the separation ofsoul and body, at the time of death, so traumatic. This is an important teaching of the Churchwhen one remembers that the Church teaches that at Christ’s second coming we will be recreatedand our souls will be reunited with our bodies. Instead of allowing the natural and God ordainedprocess of decomposition, cremation is a deliberate destruction of an integral part of our verybeing, a part we look to receive again whole in the Kingdom of God.

To be clear, cremation is not a natural process. Here we turn to the outline of theprocedure provided by the National Funeral Directors Association: “After approximately 2 to 2½ hours, all organic matter is consumed by heat or evaporation. The remaining bone fragmentsare known as cremated remains…The cremated remains are then processed into fine particles”.Even fire is not strong enough to totally consume the human body, and our bones must be groundup to produce the desired look of ashes and dust. If the burning of our bodies is considered adeliberate destruction of the work of God’s hands, surely the mechanical pulverizing of ourbones is as well.

The Orthodox insistence on the burial of the body is further explained by the words ofscripture. God tells Adam, “You are earth and to earth you shall return” (Gen 3.19). Althoughman was not intended for death at his creation, the separation from God that sin induces resultsin the return of our bodies to the earth that God used to form us. Later, Christ explains to us whythis return is necessary, “Truly truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground anddies, it remains alone. But if it dies it bears much fruit” (John 12.24). Our bodies can beconsidered the grain, or seed, of our resurrection. With loving care, our bodies are placed into theground, from where they originated, to germinate and bear the fruit of the resurrection at Christ’sreturn.

Because cremation is a deliberate destructive act against a constitutive part of our being,and because of the real hope of the recreation of our bodies at the time of Christ’s secondcoming, the Orthodox Church does not perform funeral or memorial services for those who havechosen cremation.

PARISH NEWS

+Wedding Sacrament Zachariah and Marina (Rasmussen) Yarnoff Sponsor: Emmaline Rasmussen Lambros and Angela (Moragiannis) Tsonis Sponsor: Tim Provias GOD’S LOVE AND JOY!

+Funerals Our Condolences to the families of Bob Limperis and Sam Darras. MAY THEIR MEMORY BE ETERNAL!

SACRAMENTS

+Baptisms Brooklyn (Erzsebet), daughter of Horatiu and Erzsebet Moldovan George, son of Gregory and Kimberly Alexopoulos Carys (Helena), daughter of Aaron and Camille Rybar Chloe (Diane), daughter of Evan and Eleni Arena Natalie, daughter of Robert and Zoe Novak GOD’S BLESSINGS AND LOVE!

Welcome to our New Members!

Robert and Zoe Novak

Parents: There’s still time to register your children for the 2015-2016 Church School year. Tuition is $50 per child and the first day of Church School is Sunday, September 20. To register, go to http://ssppglenview.org/church-school/

Dynamis celebrates Summer with a good old fashioned ICE CREAM SOCIAL at our August meeting. This will be a great time to share ice cream creations and a good time with each other. It is important that we take time keep in touch and share what is hap-pening in our own live and what Dynamis can do for each of us personally. We will hold the ICE CREAM SOCIAL on THURSDAY, AUGUST 13TH @ 1:00 P.M. in the Church Fellowship Hall. The cost is $5.00 and is payable in advance no later than Sunday, August 2nd . It is important to make your reservation as soon as possible. Fanny Pappas, our Treasurer will take reservations and collect the $5.00 cost. Please make checks payable to SS. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church and write Dynamis in the memo section. Please call Fanny @ 847-676--3989 as soon as possible so we can order enough of everything.

Saints Peter and Paul Agape Orthodox Christian Preschool & Kindergarten

(1401 Wagner Road Glenview, IL 60025)

Do you have a child who is eligible for preschool or Kindergarten in the fall? If so, please consider Saints Peter and Paul AGAPE Preschool. Registration for the 2015-2016 school year is in progress! AGAPE Preschool is committed to providing an educational experience emphasizing the Orthodox Christian faith in a nurturing environment with a center or play-based approach to learning. We

currently offer four different programs: a 2 year old program which meets three days a week from 9am to 11:15am, a 3 year old program and a 4 year old program which both meet Monday through Thursday from 9am to 1:00pm with an optional Friday enrichment day. All of our programs include Greek language instruction, art, mu-sic and cooking along with a strong academic curriculum. In addition to our preschool, we also have a Kindergar-ten class which meets from 9am to 2:00pm Monday through Friday. If you are interested in any of our pro-grams or would like to get more information about our school, please contact Renée at 847-729-5814 or by email at agape60025@gmail.com.

Philoptochos News by Milly Pappas

On Sunday, June 14, 2015, Fr. Panagiotis Boznos gave the Oath of Of-fice to the Board Members of Saints Peter and Paul Philoptochos (pictured above). Immediately following, the Board met and elected its executive of-ficers. Congratulations to the 2015-2017 Board Members. Executive Board and Standing Committees:

President - Georgia Ryerson Ways & Means – Maria Brown / 1st Vice President - Constance (Connie) Teska Helen Mantice 2nd Vice President - Eleni Soukoulis Philanthropy - Lucia Economos / Recording Secretary - Maryann Rasmussen Tiana Cocallas Corresponding Secy.- Phyllis Perivolidis Membership - Lea Owens/Niki Tsitsis Treasurer - Peggy Vranas Historian - Maria Kalant Assistant Treasurer - Angie Katsamakis Programs - Susan Kosmidis Parliamentarian - Frances Mechales Hospitality - Christina Spiratos / Past President / - Patricia (Pat) Nassos Petroula Bazianos Advisor Chaplain - Fay Paras Spiritual Advisor - Fr. Panagiotis Boznos Publicity - Milly Pappas

The SS. Peter and Paul Vespers and Feast Day Celebration was a beautiful event, especially the Ordination of Deacon Dr. Theodore Saclarides. Chairlady Connie Teska and her committee members would like to thank all of the ladies and gentlemen who helped in so many ways. A special thank you to the ladies who baked their delicious homemade pastry. Thank you. YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND METROPOLIS OF CHICAGO PHILOPTOCHOS LUNCHEON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015 CAFÉ LA CAVE RESTAURANT 2777 SOUTH MANNHEIM ROAD DES PLAINES, ILLINOIS Proceeds will benefit: 1. St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine (New York), 2. St. Iako-vos Retreat Center (Wisconsin), 3. Metropolis Philoptochos Philanthropy Endeavors. Donation $50.00 Checks payable to SS. Peter and Paul Philoptochos. Please mail your check by September 1st to : Peggy Vranas, 6907 North Lockwood Avenue, Skokie, IL 60077

GREEK FEST 2015 WILL BE HERE SOON – September 12 and

13. PHILOPTOCHOS MEMBER ANGIE KATSAMAKIS WILL

CHAIRS THE PASTRY SHOP AND ASKS THE LADIES TO DO-

NATE THEIR DELICIOUS HOMEMADE PASTRY. THANK YOU.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1

7:00pm Paraklesis

2

8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy

3

7:00pm Paraklesis

4

5

7:00pm Vespers @ Holy Transfiguration Monastery

6 8:30am Matins 9:30am Feast of the Transfigura-tion Divine Liturgy

7 FAST DAY 7:00pm Paraklesis

8 10:00am Altar Boy Retreat

9

8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy

10

7:00pm Paraklesis

11 7:00pm Cancer Support Meeting

12

7:00pm Paraklesis

13

1:00pm Dynamis Meeting

7:00pm Parish Council Executive Meeting

14 FAST DAY 7:00pm Vespers at Koimisis

15 8:30am Matins

9:30am The Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary

16

8:15 am Matins

9:30 am Divine Liturgy +Sacrament +Sacrament

17

18

19 Choir Federation Practice

20 11:00pm GOYA Welcome Back Party

7:00pm Summer Book Club

21 FAST DAY

22 10:30am Young Adult Soup Kitchen +Sacrament

23

8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy

24

25

6:30 pm Kick-Off Church School Staff Meeting / Dinner

26

27

7:00pm Parish Council Meeting

28 FAST DAY

29

Divine Liturgy @ Saint John the Baptist

30

8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy

31

7:00pm Vespers for the Environment

August 2015

Address Service Requested

1401 Wagner Road Glenview, Illinois 60025

CHURCH NAME AND ADDRESS Saints Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church #103365 1401 Wagner Road Glenview, IL 60025 TELEPHONE 847 729-2235 CONTACT PERSON Jeannine McIntyre EMAIL: office@ssppglenview.org SOFTWARE MSPublisher 2007 Adobe Acrobat X Windows XP PRINTER HP Laserjet 3005 TRANSMISSION TIME (usually, not always) 2nd Friday of each month @ 10:00 4 weeks in the month 3rd Friday of each month @10:00 5 weeks in the month PLEASE NOTE: For the first time, due to crazy circumstances (the weather notwith-standing) we are getting this to you late. Any help at all to expedite it quickly would be so greatly appreciated! NEWSLETTER DATE August Newsletter NUMBER OF PAGES SENT 1 through 16

DELIVERED TO OVERT PRESS (BY PETE W.) SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:

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