The Pastor’s Page Newsletters/December 18... · 12 Δ 0κ 0μβρίου—Του Αγίου...

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because I’m so wonderful or pious but be- cause my experiences really affect me. The other day, I went to visit someone who was dying that I barely knew. I met him a few times by his attending funerals but I never saw him in church. Shamefully, the thought did cross my mind, “Why does he want me to visit him when he hasn’t been to church since the day he was baptized?” This is my judgmental side and I’m not proud of it. It was dark, cold, and raining heavily and his house was more than 25 miles away. It was a Friday night and I was tired. But I went and it was a visit I’ll never forget. Thank God for experiences like these. Thank God for opportunities like these that show me how important God is to people, how important the Church is to people even when we think it means little or nothing to them. I know that I will be the recipient of many gifts this Christmas but I feel like my gift was already given to me before the Christmas Lent even began. Life is precious and price- less, the greatest gift that God can give us. But if you can’t afford to give to others like in previous years, just remember one thing: the greatest gift you’ll ever give is the one you’ll give to God, and that’s the gift of your life back to Him. Soup Kitchen Ministry Be- gins for Adults Christmas Concert on De- cember 2 at 3:30 JOY Heading to Heritage for Caroling GOYA Plans an Active Month and Year Christmas Pageant Needs Your Help Over 60 Angels Give to the Needy Divine Liturgy Books Com- ing Soon Endowment 100 Club Needs a Few Donors for Record Christmas Card and Flow- ers Need Sponsorship The Pastor’s Page Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Ask my kids: I’m a bit of a Scrooge at Christmastime. I don’t enjoy shopping. Before I was married, I used to start my shopping every year on December 23. I had two whole days to get it all done—more than enough time for me in my single days. Even as a kid, I once yelled at my parents for buying me my own TV. “I’m 12 years old and you buy me a TV?” Why, you may ask. Is it because I didn’t like TV? Quite the opposite: I was addicted to it. It would be like buying an alcoholic a bottle of whiskey. You don’t do that to someone. I also don’t buy snack food when I go to the grocery store. If I have it, I’ll eat it. I’m very strong in the store but very weak at home. I say all this because sometimes being a priest doesn’t allow me to be “normal”. I have a hard time doing the things that other people my age do: gambling, hard drinking, spoiling myself with lots of entertainment, or buying “that boat I’ve always wanted”. I deal with life and death too often, I’m refocusing priorities way too often to do those things. I say that not Parish Mission Statement: To proclaim and live the Orthodox Christian Faith in its fullness as faithful members of the Body of Christ. Soup Kitchen Ministry Living and worshipping in Springfield, we are surrounded by people who are truly in need, people who, for one reason or anoth- er, have not been able to make it on their own. With our eyes wide open, we will be starting a new ministry with the coming year, a Soup Kitchen Ministry, that will give the adults the opportunity to do what our kids have been doing for years: feeding the needy in our area. This is primarily for adults, 18 to 100, and will be getting together once each month to make this a reality. A sign- up sheet is now available. Add your name and join us. We need you.

Transcript of The Pastor’s Page Newsletters/December 18... · 12 Δ 0κ 0μβρίου—Του Αγίου...

because I’m so wonderful or pious but be-

cause my experiences really affect me.

The other day, I went to visit someone who was dying that I barely knew. I met him a few times by his attending funerals but I never saw him in church. Shamefully, the thought did cross my mind, “Why does he want me to visit him when he hasn’t been to church since the day he was baptized?” This

is my judgmental side and I’m not proud of it.

It was dark, cold, and raining heavily and his house was more than 25 miles away. It was a Friday night and I was tired. But I went and it was a visit I’ll never forget. Thank God for experiences like these. Thank God for opportunities like these that show me how important God is to people, how important the Church is to people even when we think it means little or nothing to

them.

I know that I will be the recipient of many gifts this Christmas but I feel like my gift was already given to me before the Christmas Lent even began. Life is precious and price-less, the greatest gift that God can give us. But if you can’t afford to give to others like in previous years, just remember one thing: the greatest gift you’ll ever give is the one you’ll give to God, and that’s the gift of your life

back to Him.

• Soup Kitchen Ministry Be-gins for Adults

• Christmas Concert on De-cember 2 at 3:30

• JOY Heading to Heritage for Caroling

• GOYA Plans an Active Month and Year

• Christmas Pageant Needs Your Help

• Over 60 Angels Give to the Needy

• Divine Liturgy Books Com-ing Soon

• Endowment 100 Club Needs a Few Donors for Record

• Christmas Card and Flow-ers Need Sponsorship

The Pastor’s Page Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Ask my kids: I’m a bit of a Scrooge at Christmastime. I don’t enjoy shopping. Before I was married, I used to start my shopping every year on December 23. I had two whole days to get it all done—more than enough time

for me in my single days.

Even as a kid, I once yelled at my parents for buying me my own TV. “I’m 12 years old and you buy me a TV?” Why, you may ask. Is it because I didn’t like TV? Quite the opposite: I was addicted to it. It would be like buying an alcoholic a bottle of whiskey. You don’t do that to someone. I also don’t buy snack food when I go to the grocery store. If I have it, I’ll eat it. I’m very strong in the store but very

weak at home.

I say all this because sometimes being a priest doesn’t allow me to be “normal”. I have a hard time doing the things that other people my age do: gambling, hard drinking, spoiling myself with lots of entertainment, or buying “that boat I’ve always wanted”. I deal with life and death too often, I’m refocusing priorities way too often to do those things. I say that not

Parish Mission Statement: To proclaim and live the Orthodox Christian Faith in its fullness as faithful members of the Body of Christ.

Soup Kitchen Ministry Living and worshipping in Springfield, we are surrounded by people who are truly in need, people who, for one reason or anoth-er, have not been able to make it on their

own.

With our eyes wide open, we will be starting a new ministry with the coming year, a Soup Kitchen Ministry, that will give the adults the opportunity to do what our kids

have been doing for years: feeding the needy in our area. This is primarily for adults, 18 to 100, and will be getting together once each month to make this a reality. A sign-

up sheet is now available. Add your name and join us. We need you.

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2018 PARISH COUNCIL

President: Elizabeth Pappas Frogameni

Vice President: Anthony Lalikos

Secretary: Christopher Ciejek

Treasurer: Nicole Lipp

Diane Arventos

James Athens II

Peter Coscore

George Couchiaftis

Calliope Hoffman

Nicholas Kintgios

Liza Pappas

Ilias Roumeliotis

Joseph Spano

Steve Stathis

Tarsis Theofanidis

COMMITTEE AND

ORGANIZATION HEADS

Building Fund Committee Despina Varelakis Costa

Choir Director Joan Marcil

Endowment Fund Andrew Psilakis

G.O.Y.A. Advisor Chrisoula Mahida

Greek School Liza Pappas

J.O.Y. Stephanie Giannakopoulos

Over 60 Club Marika Hamilakis

Philoptochos Dimitra Stathis Ciejek

Sexton Susan Efremidis

Stewardship Peter Coscore

Sunday School Despina Varelakis Costa

The Apostle is the monthly newsletter of St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Western Massachusetts, Inc., 22 St.

George Road, Springfield, MA 01104, Tel: 413-737-1496

E-mail: [email protected]

An online version is also available anytime at our web site:

www.stgeorgecath.org Simply click on “Welcome”.

To subscribe to The Apostle and e-mail notifications - go to www.stgeorgecath.org click on Subscribe to Mailings under

the “Welcome” heading.

To reach Sandra in the office, please send an email to:

[email protected]

Father Chris to be Guest Speaker at Webster Retreat On Saturday, December 8, the Sts. Constantine and Helen Church will host a Christmas Lenten Retreat for with Fr. Chris as the guest speaker. The day begins at 9:30 with prayer followed by cof-fee and pastry. The day will conclude at 12:30 roughly. If you’d like to attend, please let him know ASAP.

Bad Weather Reminder As we’ve done in previous years, we will be using our voicemail system to inform you whether or not we will be delay-ing or cancelling our services and events. So, after 7 am for morning events or 2 pm for evening events, please call the of-fice and, if no one is there, the voicemail system will indicate the status of upcoming events. Simply call the church office at 413-737-1496 and the first message you hear will indicate

whether or not we’re cancelling or delaying.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Our JOY group will be caroling once again at Heritage Hall in Agawam. Please join us along with Santa to help bring Christmas cheer to the residents. We will be meeting at 9 Am on Saturday, December 15th at Her-itage Hall. GOYA members are welcome to join us. The more the merrier. Looking forward to seeing you and singing together.

Stephanie Giannakopoulos

Dear Fellow Parishioners, We are fast approaching a very busy time of year. Thanksgiving is here and we must reflect, not only now but all year

long, how blessed we are to have the love of Jesus Christ. Please take a moment each day to give thanks.

Christmas is also right around the corner and I want you all to remember it’s not about the monetary gifts its about the “gifts” we re-

ceive. Think about that for a moment.........Celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thank you every St George parishioner, Parish Council, all the committees and Fr. Chris for your love and support throughout the

year.

Respectfully submitted,

Liz Frogameni

Parish Council President

PayPal Donation Button Added to Website Would you like to charge your stewardship? Now, you can

s i m p l y g o o n t o o u r w e b s i t e —www.stgeorgecath.org—and scroll down to the yellow donation button which will allow you use

a credit card to make a donation to St. George. This payment will go through the PayPal system and St. George will be able to retrieve it very easily. You may, if desired, even pay your

stewardship this way.

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Riverdale Imports

—————————————————————

JOSEPH S. SPANO 413-736-4527

CELL: (413)537-7283

December 11—Great Vespers at St. Spyridon in Worcester on

at 7 pm. A bus will be going from St. George

December 12—St. Spyridon the Wonderworker, liturgy in the

chapel at 9 am

December 24— Service of the Royal Hours, 9 a.m.

December 24—Vesperal-Liturgy at 6 p.m. in the Cathedral

December 25—The Nativity of Christ, 9 am, chapel

December 27— St. Stephen the Archdeacon and First Martyr,

9 a.m.

Beginning on December 12, the Christmas Fast becomes a strict fast from meat, fish, dairy, wine and oil. After the feast, there is not fasting at all

until January 5, the eve of Theophany, which is strict.

11 Δεκεμβρίου—Εσπερινός στο Worcester στις 7 μμ. Θα πάμε

όλοι μαζί μ’ένα λεωφορείο.

12 Δεκεμβρίου—Του Αγίου Σπυρίδονος του Θαυματουργού, 9 πμ

24 Δεκεμβρίου— Ακουλουθία των Βασιλικών Ωρών, 9 πμ

24 Δεκεμβρίου—Εσπερινό-Λειτουργία στις 6 μμ στο Ναό μας

25 Δεκεμβρίου—Η Γέννησις του Χριστού, 9 πμ, παρεκκλήσι

27 Δεκεμβρίου—Του Αγίου Στεφάνου του Αρχιδιακάνου και

Πρωτομάρτυρος, 9 πμ

Αρχίζοντας τη 12η Δεκεμβρίου, η νηστεία των Χριστουγέννων γίνεται αυστηρή και απαγορεύονται το κρέας, ψάρι, γαλακτοκομικά, κρασί και ελαιόλαδο. Μετά

την εορτή, δεν νηστεύουμε καθόλου μέχρι την παραμονή των Θεοφανείων.

In November, we held a movie and potluck night and invited the St. Luke’s GOYA to join us. A fun time was had by all. December will be another busy month. On December 1st, we have been invited to the St. Luke’s GOYA dance. The dance will be held at St. Luke’s from 7 to 11 and will cost $10. A DJ, pizza and snacks will be provided. Please rsvp by Nov.28 by text to 413-540-6021 or by email

to [email protected].

Our next St. George GOYA meeting will be held on Decem-ber 2nd after church. We will be filling shoe boxes for Opera-tion Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, which is

an international relief organization.

On December 15th, the JOY group is going Christmas Car-oling at Heritage Hall in Agawam at 9:00 am. GOYA members are invited to participate. Don’t forget our Christmas Par-ty! Details will be coming! It’s still not too late to join GOYA!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

George Patrakis, President

On October 21st, members of the Saint George community at-tended a lovely event at the Saint Spyridon Cathedral in Worcester to honor Debbie Ciejek as well as a few other ladies who have tirelessly and selflessly served the Philoptohos Socie-

ty in their local parishes and the Metropolis of Boston.

Congratulations to Debbie!

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Sunday School Celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ

We have started our preparation for our ANNUAL CHRIST-MAS PAGEANT, which will take place this year on Sunday, December 23rd. This is always a very special event at our Cathedral as we welcome our families, relatives and friends to hear the story of the Birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and to feel the true meaning of Christmas. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and extended family truly enjoy seeing their children offer such a meaningful reminder as to

what Christmas is all about .

For the parents of our Sunday School, please note that the rehearsal schedule is as follows: Friday, December 14TH and Friday, December 21ST from 5:30PM to 7:30PM. Ideally, we would like to have every student participate – there is a role for everyone so please encourage your student to partici-pate. The times will be announced in a memo that will be dis-tributed in the classrooms. Please make every effort to have your child attend the rehearsals which are critical to our per-formance. Every participant is needed, regardless of the part. We wish to thank those parents who approached us in early November to inquire about our schedule so as to plan around attending the rehearsals. Every year, this pageant draws a large congregation as the family, friends and guests

I n a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”

“Nonsense” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?” The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.” The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutri-tion and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.” The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.” The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover if there is life, then why has no one ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion It takes us nowhere.” “Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.” The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?” The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.” Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.” To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and listen, you can perceive Her presence, and

you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”

of our participants watch upon this joyful celebration in our St. George community. You won’t want to miss it, so please mark

your calendars.

On Sunday, December 16th, we will have Santa Claus join us for pictures with our children. Please bring your digital camera so that you may capture the moment …Santa Claus

will be distributing a treat to all of his children.

In the spirit of gift giving, this year we will be collecting non perishable canned and packaged foods for the local Springfield soup kitchens. More information on specific items that can be donated is being sent home in a memo with our students. The collection boxes will be in the lower level near the classrooms and in the stoa for any parishioner wishing to

make a donation.

We recognize that it is a busy time for all of our families and ask that, as in the past, you include these events in your commitments during this coming holiday season. As a Chris-tian family, the activities we sponsor for our students are sure to remind us of the true significance of Christmas - to com-memorate the birth of Jesus Christ; so please make sure your

child is a part our celebration.

Wishing you a Joyous and Blessed Holiday Season filled with

Faith, Hope and Love

Despina Costa and the dedicated volunteers of the Sunday

School Program

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C’JACK REALTY ASSOC.

Real Estate Development

P.O. Box 476 West Springfield, MA 01089

CHRISTOPHER CIEJEK,

General Partner 413-739-0670

Needy Families? Do you know of a needy family (perhaps your own) that would truly benefit from assistance dur-ing the upcoming holidays? Please let Fr. Chris know and we’ll keep it private.

End of Year Financial Statements

In the past financial statements at years’ end were mailed to all parishioners in good standing. This prac-tice was not only an expense but also labor intensive and time consuming. Due to the recent Federal tax changes enacted in 2018 many will choose to take the lump sum deduction offered instead of itemizing ex-penses. Therefore, it has been decided that year end financial statements will be provided by request only by

the end of January 2019 as has been done in the past.

If you have any questions or need additional infor-mation you may contact the members of the Steward-ship Committee (Peter Coscore, Doreen Psilakis, Betty

Socha) or call Sandra Fiore at the office 413-737-1496.

Over 60 Angels Donate to Needy Many of us know the hard work that our ladies exert every Tuesday to feed 90 seniors at the Over 60 Club. They are the best of the best! Their talent and

their generosity is incredible.

Recently, the ladies got together and did what they do best: they baked kou-louria (Greek cookies) and they began selling them for

Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations so that all of the proceeds could be gifted to the needy. Our ladies will be taking the funds and purchasing gift cards which will then

be distributed as needed.

Their and our hope is that these gifts will help to bring

some Christmas joy to someone who may not have had it.

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Dear Beloved Philoptochos Ladies,

As December approaches, we enter the holiday season. The Philoptochos Board wishes all of our St. George family a Merry Christmas. As we await the birth of our Lord and Savior, we must also think of the meaning of the season. The spirit of giving is in the air. Let’s take a moment to remember

those less fortunate, those who will not receive gifts or food.

During the month of December, Philoptochos is again look-ing for your support. We will continue with the “Undie Sunday” program and continue to collect undies for men and women. We will also collect toiletries and personal items for women to be delivered to the Women’s shelter.

As we have done in the past, movie theater tickets will be collected for the older children of the Gray House who more often than not are forgotten at holiday season. All donations are greatly appreciated. Please drop all donations to the center, where a box will be provided for your convenience. Movie thea-ter tickets can be dropped off in an envelope marked Gray House.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the November 11th coffee hour. It was beautiful and a huge success. We received a great abundance of toiletries for our Veteran’s. They are always so appreciative of the little things. Congratulations to Bob and Tina Schmidt winners of the raffle. The November 11th second collection was for our Patron Saints Cosmas and Damian. The collection will be going to the Ecumenical Patriar-chate, which is our November commitment.

We recently lost one of our beloved parishioners Bess Wil-son, a most gracious lady. We will miss Bess and her smile. May her memory be eternal.

Now some upcoming events:

On December 2nd, the Philoptochos will be helping the Christ-mas Concert committee. We are looking for ethnic baked goods and Christmas cookies. Attendees of the concert look forward to all the ethnic pastries. All goodies may be dropped off in the large hall. Please have them on a proper plate ready to be served. We thank you in advance for your help.

On January 6th, Philoptochos will be hosting the annual Va-silopita and soup cook off. We are looking for contestants to make and enter their favorite soup. This has been a great suc-cess and who doesn’t want warm comforting soup on a cold day. Please contact a board member if you wish to participate. Please join us for fun and fellowship at both events.

January is also membership month. We are looking for all women and men to become a part of the largest Christian Wom-

For several years now we’ve been collecting aluminum can tabs from our parishioners. These tabs are cashed in at a local recycler and the funds are con-

tributed to the Sunday School program.

Save the tabs is very easy: just put them into a plas-tic baggie and bring to the office whenever you’d like.

We’ll take care of the rest.

The same goes for inkjet and toner cartridges. They save us hundreds in office supplies every year. Please save them at work also. Just bring them into the office and we’ll recycle them at Staples saving up to $40 per

month on our supplies.

We have put to-gether our own Di-vine Liturgy book similar but different to the red books in our pews. This book will include the new translation that came out in 2016 and will also include the most popular feast day hymns and some

Communion prayers.

Since this book is produced in house, you will have the option of having your name printed on the cover. The cost for

this new book will be $12/book. If you are interested in pur-chasing this book, please send your check to the office with

contact information.

en’s organization in the United States. It’s not your grandmothers or mothers Philoptochos any more!

We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Καλα Χριστουγεννα και Ευτυχισμενος Ο Νεος Ετος.

With Love and Appreciation,

Dimitra (Debbie) Stathis-Ciejek and Philoptochos Board

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On behalf of the Committee we wish everyone a very happy, healthy Thanksgiving holiday to be enjoyed with fam-

ily and friends.

Charitable Gifting

In previous issues of the Apostle we mentioned that the Committee will again present general information on charitable gifting in a brief and condensed format. The following are a few of the options an individual can choose

if interested in leaving his/her lasting legacy to a favorite charity, hopefully the choice will be St. George Cathedral.

These options will be presented in more detail in the upcoming issues of the Apostle.

Gifting Of Assets During One’s Lifetime

Gifting Through Last Will And Testament Documents

Gifting By Using IRA Assets

Gifting By Using Life Insurance Benefits

Gifting By Establishing A Charitable Lead Trust

Gifting By Establishing A Charitable Remainder Trust

Regardless of the option selected a financial advisor and/or an estate attorney should be chosen not only for advice but also for creat-

ing an estate plan in which the selected option is included.

Portfolio Update

Anxiety returned in the stock market in late October. Investor concerns regarding the Fed continuing to raise interest rates in Decem-ber and in 2019, the unresolved trade issues with China, and the concern on the outcome of the November 6 elections all combined to create a sell-off in the major markets despite favor-able economic news about employment, productivity and wages. As a result of this “temporary” sell-off the Trust’s portfolio of assets was negatively impacted by approximately

6% from its previous high mark.

100 Club Update

A great big thank you to John & Liza Pappas and Theodore Pappas for renewing their mem-bership to the 100 Club for 2018. Their continued support is greatly appreciated. We only

need an additional two parishioners to surpass last year’s record of fifty-two.

The following is a list of the fifty-one (51) members as of November 4th:

Charlie & Sue Alvanos, Dan & Diane Arventos, Demos & Ralitsa Axas, Stefanos & Joanna Axas, Nick & Estelle Bazos, Cesare & Virginia Ciantra, Peter Coscore, George Couchiaftis, Gloria D’Angelo, Peter & Zoe Demos, Florence Dunia, Chuck & Marcia Eliopou-los, Jan Ghareeb, Sheila Joseph, Ray & Ann Judycki, Thea Katsounakis, Penny Kratimenos, Georgette Laios/Maryellen Knapp, Tony & Barbara Lalikos, Gus & Maria Levanos, Philip & Evangelia Loukellis, George & Connie Manioudakis, Steve & Anastasia Marangou-dakis, Angelo Metzidakis, Bessie Metzidakis, Kathie & Gus Mouneimneh, Nick & Maria Papadoulis, Catherine Pappas, John & Liza Pappas, Mary Anne Pappas, Theodore Pappas, Andy & Doreen Psilakis, Alexandra Schoolcraft, Bob & Tina Schmidt, Bob & Marga-ret Schwarz, Gary & Marie Setian, Crawford Smith, David & Betty Socha, Joe Spano, Father Chris & Penny Stamas, Nick & Helen Stavarakis, Nancy & Ray Suchak, Dennis & Leslie Tighe, Pons Tougias, Kiki Trial, Steve & Eva Trikas, Georgia Williams, Aphro &

Stan Wojnar, Anonymous, Anonymous, Anonymous

As always I would like to express my deepest appreciation and heartfelt thanks to all the above members who have faithfully and con-

tinuously supported this endeavor. Don’t forget we need two more members to set a new record of fifty-three for 2018.

With deepest respect,

Andy Psilakis

Chair, Endowment Trust Committee

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Theodore P. Carellas William G. Carellas

Carellas Insurance Agency, Inc. HOMEOWNERS □ AUTO □ COMMERCIAL

207 Park Avenue

West Springfield, MA 01089

A Prayer Book for Everyone Compiled specially for anyone—young, old, Greek or English-speaking, and those who prefer non-traditional or traditional pray-ers, this prayer book has it all. Father Chris put this together a few years ago for the St. George community and, at just

$3, it is absolutely the best deal in town.

If you or your child/grandchild does not have one, you need it. Children from the age of 8 will find this easy to read and useful for bedtime prayers and for nearly every other life situation. See Fr.

Chris and get your copy today.

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

This year, we’ve committed to getting new decorations, more beautiful flowers and a more festival look for our Cathe-

dral. We need your help!

These new plants, at the same $15 each, may be donat-ed either in memory or in honor of someone in your family. Please make your checks payable to St. George Cathedral. Please also write “Christmas Decorations” in the memo sec-tion and include this form so that your funds are properly

directed.

“Yes, I would like to donate to St. George to help de-fray the cost of the holiday decorations. Please pur-chase _____ poinsettia plants on my behalf at $15 each. Enclosed is my check for $______ which I gladly send to my beloved Church.

Donor’s Name:____________________________________

In Memory of: ____________________________________

In Honor of: ______________________________________

________________________________________________

ChRISTMAS CARDS

“Greet the friends by name.” 3John 14

If you would like to have your name or your family’s name on the Saint George Community Christmas card, please fill out the form with your check for $25 payable to St. George Cathe-

dral.

Please mail with the enclosed form to: St. George Cathedral, 22 St. George

Road, Springfield MA 01104.

The absolute deadline for submission is Friday, Decem-ber 7, 2017. Please print your name(s) as you wish it to

appear on the Christmas card:

Name:__________________________________

_______________________________________

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CONTRIBUTION RANGE REPORT January 1, 2018 to November 15, 2018

Dollar Amts. # Givers Total Gift Average

Sacraments November 3rd , Alex and Camille Hatzis baptized their daughter Eleanora Despina. November 17th, Kasandra Joanides baptized her daughter, Caraline November 18th, Mike and Talia Bazos brought their daughter Mila for a 40 day blessing. Congratulations to all! November 13th, Bess Wilson was laid to rest. God bless her soul.

Stewardship It’s good to see our stewardship and membership num-bers going up from where they were but, at just 364, we would love to see more our youth making contributions and fulfilling their stewardship as they should. It’s important to remember: we’re not asked to pay for a service, whether it’s liturgy or anything else, we’re asked to donate to ministry, to our schools, and to various ministers. We hope that you’ll

reach out, if you haven’t, and make your pledge now.

Are You Ready for the Best Summer of Your Lives?

The Office of Ionian Village is excited to announce our

Summer 2019 program dates!

IVNext: For participants aged 19-24

June 2-13

SUMMER CAMP

For campers currently in 9th - 12th Grades

Session One: June 22 - July 11

Session Two: July 21 - August 9

Registration for all programs begins on March 1, 2019.

For more information, please visit:

www.ionianvillage.org

Recently Father Chris visited the Metropolis on behalf of the National PanCretan Association. They were disbursing their funds to various needy organizations and decided to donate $1,000 to the Philoxenia House which is part of the Metropo-lis of Boston. His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios was very

appreciative for their generosity.

0.01 - 100 65 3,718.00 57.20

100.01 - 200 61 10,637.00 174.38

200.01 - 300 48 12,537.00 261.19

300.01 - 400 53 19,542.00 368.72

400.01 - 500 46 21,440.50 466.10

500.01 - 750 39 23,621.00 605.67

750.01 - 800 3 2,335.00 778.33

800.01 - 1,000 14 12,883.00 920.21

1,000.01 - 1,500 19 22,683.77 1,193.88

1,500.01 - 1,999 5 8,795.00 1,759.00

1,999.01 - 2,500 4 9,010.00 2,252.50

2,500.01 - 5,000 4 14,212.00 3,553.00

5,000.01 - 10,000 3 18,882.00 6,294.00

Total 364 $180,296.27 $495.32

12

St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Western Massachusetts 22 St. George Road Springfield, MA 01104

TIME DATED MATERIAL

PRE-SORT STANDARD

NON-PROFIT

U.S.POSTAGE

PAID SPRINGFIELD, MA

PERMIT #708

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

St. Pierre Phaneuf Funeral Chapels

A Lasting Memory of the Journey Home

St. Pierre-Phaneuf Springfield Chapels

(413)737-1177

St. Pierre-Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels

(413)532-9806

St. Pierre-Phaneuf Fairview Chapels

(413)533-3307

www.stpierrephaneuf.com

Paul A. Phaneuf, Matthew D. Sabat,

and Anthony J. Hanke, Directors

The Flower Stop

1146 Memorial Ave West Springfield, MA 01089

413-739-6247

Ruby Perakis, Owner [email protected]

540 Main Street, West Springfield, MA 01089

413-736-5181

For over 10 years, the service provider to St. George Cathedral

Visit our website at: ees-security.com We are complete service provider for homes and businesses

P.O. Box 1459 MN008-W235 Minneapolis, MN 55440-1459