Reverend Father Soterios Rousakis, Protopresbyter 15 Francis Street · Jamestown, NY 14701

www.stnicholasjamestown.org Email: stnicholasjamestown@gmail.com 716-483-0022

Pg 2 Fr. Soterios Pg 3 House Blessings Pg 4 Council Corner & Prosforo Class Pg 5 Youth Ministry Pg 6 Vision 2020 and Epiphany

Pg 7 Philoptochos Pg 8 Choir Notes and Thank You Pg 9 Sunday School Pg10 Picture Album Pg11 Monthly Calendar Pg12 Chrismation

ISSUE 1 JANUARY 2020

Special Dates in January

Sunday, January 5th, 8:45am Orthros and Divine Liturgy

Eve of Epiphany Strict Fast Day

Small Agiasmos

Monday, January 6th, 8:30am Orthros and Divine Liturgy

Epiphany Great Agiasmos

Tuesday, January 7th, 8:30am Orthros and Divine Liturgy

St. John the Baptist

Sunday, January 12th, 8:45am Orthros and Divine Liturgy

Sunday after Epiphany

Thursday, January 16th, 6:30pm Vesperal Liturgy

St. Anthony the Great

Saturday, January 18th, 8:30am Orthros and Divine Liturgy

Ss. Athanasios and Cyril

Sunday, January 19th, 8:45am Orthros and Divine Liturgy

12th Sunday of Luke

Sunday, January 26th, 8:45am Orthros and Divine Liturgy

15th Sunday of Luke

Wednesday, January 29th, 6:30pm Vesperal Liturgy The 3 Hierarchs

January Greeter Duty:

Sunday, January 5th Courtney & Laz Theofilactidis

Sunday, January 12th Terry & Joanne Christ

Sunday, January 19th Kim Tatoian

Sunday, January 26th Greg & Christina Anderson

Please be on time for your duty and if you can’t be here,

Please find someone to fill in.

Th e Wo n de rw o r k e r

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

January Prosforo Schedule

Sunday, January 5th Christine Cheronis

Sunday. January 12th Angie Turner

Sunday, January 19th Tiffany Theofilactides

Sunday, January 26th Sabrina Piaschyk

FROM THE DESK OF FR. SOTERI

“Behold, I make all things new.” On New Year’s day, and indeed on every other day, the Lord says this to all of us, and from the standpoint of our Orthodox Christian faith this means something more than simply substi-tuting one calendar for another, trying to remember that we should date our checks and let-ters with the numerals of the new year—2020—rather than the old. This year is a year of grace, marked by the power and influence of our Lord and Savior Je-sus Christ in the hearts and minds of those who take Him seriously. This is what makes the new year—not simply the passage of time, something which happens automatically, but transforming spirit of God working in us and through us as we continue to journey towards salvation. This new year begins as a year of grace, even though every year is potentially a year of grace, a year when we can make contact with God’s love in line with God’s purpose, right where we are, just as we get concerned about paying bills and picking our work up again where we left off when the holidays caught up with us. This is a year of grace for us, when we can find the old made new just as we find normality pressing in upon us. Merely replacing one calendar with another will not bring about a confident relationship with God. Merely changing the digit in the date on our checks and letters will not by itself give us time with meaning. The mere passage of time does not bring about automatic results, but the opportunity is with us always, especially in worship. We come to church the same per-son that we were last year, and we come into the presence of God, Who makes all things new. God, Who has already read our inner most thoughts and who knows our records, ac-cepts us as we are, because we are His children. He makes it possible for the New Year to be new in the sense that we know ourselves to be forgiven, we have a new appreciation of what sonship to the Father may mean, and we feel a new reality in our membership in the family of God. To begin the New Year in the presence of God as members of a worshipping congregation means that we can rise at the end of the Divine Liturgy with an assurance that something new has been added to our lives. Consequently, we can take the peace and purpose and power of Christ with us wherever we go in the days ahead. My prayer for the New Year is that this be a year of grace, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in our individual lives. May this grace make us new, as God uses our lives in His purpose by accepting us as we are, by forgiving our sins, by recreating our ways of seeing things to His good, by reconstituting our relationship with Him and with each other, and then by sending us our blessings to live this glorious newness in our daily lives.

Happy New Year to All!

HOUSE BLESSINGS

The “Blessing of Homes” is an Orthodox Christian custom that is observed by many at Epiphany time, on or around January 6th. Through this custom, the Parish Priest is invited into one’s home to bless it with the Holy Water (Agiasmos), and also to pray for family members, for their health, well-being, sanctification and protec-tion of their homes. The Holy Water is water that is blessed at the Church on the Feast of Epiphany, January 6th. Those who wish to observe this custom are encouraged to call the Church Office to schedule a visitation or you may fill out the bottom half of this form and mail it back to us. Fr. Soteri will be making visitations from January 10th through January 30th. You will be contacted by telephone to confirm your visitation at a time that is mutually convenient to both you and Father. People who have never had a House Blessing before often wonder what to do when the priest comes, and what happens while he is there. The procedure is a simple one: 1. Welcome the Priest into your home. 2. Turn off the TV and/or stereo and gather your family together in front of your Icons or in a specific room. 3. Be attentive to the prayers being read for you, your family and your home. 4. When it comes time to bless the home, one member of the family (younger children should be included)

should lead the priest to all the rooms in the house. Other family members should remain in the “prayer area” until the priest returns.

The priest will then offer up a concluding prayer. Family members then make the sign of the cross, kiss the blessing cross, and receive a blessing.

5. Please note, a major benefit of the House Blessing is one which gives the priest and the family an opportuni-ty to get to know one another. Though it is not possible for the priest to stay more than 10 or 15 minutes and this is because of the number of homes that he must bless on a given day, he will stay at least that long if invit-ed. If you would like him to stay, invite him to sit after the House Blessing ceremony. You may offer him something to eat or drink. Alcohol and sweets are not recommended. If you have any questions about House Blessings please email – father.soterios@gmail.com _________________________________________________________________________________________

HOUSE BLESSING NAME:______________________________________ PHONE:________________________ ADDRESS:____________________________________________________________________ CITY:_________________________________ ZIP CODE:_____________________________

➢ Sunday, January 12th

after Coffee Hour:

Personal Financial Planning Session – Lou Deppas, Financial Advisor for the St. Nicholas Investments, will hold a free session to discuss best practices for personal investing and financial plan-ning. All are welcome to attend and ask questions! Open to all ages, and food will be served.

COUNCIL CORNER AND PROSFORO CLASS

Prosforo Class On Saturday December 14th, Fr. Soterios held a class on the meaning of the sections of the Prosforo bread and how they are used for Holy Communion. He told of the utensils used to cut and section the seal and it was amazing to see it done and hear the prayers used for the conversion into the Body of our Lord. This class will be done again in the future during Lent. I hope more parishioners will attend. After Father was done, we went to the Hall where I demonstrated the making of the Prosforo - the items which are only used for making it and nothing else. I showed the difference be-tween using the wooden hand seal which has a tendency of not giving a perfect seal. I also made one in a cast iron pan with the seal in the bottom of the pan for a perfect seal on the Holy Bread for our Prosforo. Anyone wishing to learn can call me or see me at Church. I be-lieve the Prosforo making is a gift to our Lord and we should be happy to do this small task. God bless you all! Joanne M Christ

Dear Fellow Parishioners, As another Christmas season is approaching, we pray for the continued hope and blessings of a new year! We will be looking forward to the addition of Tatiana Malys to our Parish Council and thank Basil Gedz for his many years of service to our Council and parish as a whole. Along with the regular business of the Council, we will continue to work with the city on determining the final plans for our runoff/erosion issue in the back driveway. This project was discussed at our November General Assembly, and we will be asking for a final approval with budgeted expenses during the Spring General Assem-bly. We also continue to monitor the back wall behind the stage as rain and snow put the work to the test. Additionally members of the Council along with different subcom-mittees will be working on revising our current bylaws and staying engaged with the Vision 2022 committee in order to prepare for our Centennial celebration. Another year has passed and it continues to be a blessing to serve our St. Nich-olas family as your Parish Council President. There are so many people who put in more than their fair share of hours in assisting the business of our church, but I would like to thank every Parish Council member especially, who have been nothing but sup-portive and helpful to the church and myself.

With love in Christ,

Tim Anderson Council President

Building Repair Update New Choir Doors were installed, but a structural issue under threshold was discov-ered and will be repaired before final trim is completed. Laz Theofilactidis is oversee-ing the repair and trim installation, and has hired a contractor to perform the work.

YOUTH MINISTRY

Youth Ministry leaders met with Father Soterios in early November to review calendar and activities for the rest of the ecclesiastical year. Exciting new initiatives were dis-cussed! We launched St. Nicholas' Angel Tree in late November. The youth of our Church decorated paper angels, each of which had a tag on the back indicating a child for whom a Christmas gift would be purchased. On Dec 12, we donated all 53 gifts and their angels to CASA of Chautauqua County. These gifts given by many gener-ous parishioners will go to children whose living situations are unstable. We pray for them and their guardians. Save the date for another new program! Father Soterios and the youth ministries of Sunday School and SNOY will lead a Lenten Retreat on Great and Holy Friday, April 17, 2020. Upcoming events: February 29th - Family Bowling at Frewsburg Lanes, 3pm -- All ages are welcome! March 28th - Beetreat at St. Sophia in Syracuse St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival topics have been released online. Our par-ish festival will take place in March, so get started on your speeches!

VISION 2022 AND EPIPHANY

The Vision 2022 team has been meeting monthly, and conducted interviews with 6 people. Greg Peterson, who has conducted over 200 interviews of WWII Veterans, has been assisting with the interview process. Along with him, Greg Anderson and Liz Frederick have been conducting interviews while Todd Singleton has been recording and producing them. The first handful of interviews are now posted for anyone to view on YouTube. Use this link to watch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgDAcEEQROhfrTLf9UgUA9g Todd will continue to post there as he completes editing. Thanks, Todd, for your hard work and technical expertise! A formal letter has been sent to His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas requesting approval for a Centennial Celebration date. Kathy Kieva has joined the committee, and brings a host of pertinent experience and skill with interviews and communications. Welcome, Kathy!

Epiphany - January 6th About the beginning of our Lord's thirtieth year, John the Forerunner, who was some six months older than Our Savior according to the flesh, and had lived in the wilderness since his childhood, received a command from God and came into the parts of the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins. Then our Savior also came from Galilee to the Jordan, and sought and received baptism though He was the Master and John was but a servant. Whereupon, there came to pass those marvelous deeds, great and beyond nature: the Heavens were opened, the Spirit descended in the form of a dove upon Him that was being baptized and the voice was heard from the Heavens hearing witness that this was the beloved Son of God, now baptized as a man (Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:1-22). From these events the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and the great mystery of the Trinity were demonstrated. It is also from this that the present feast is called "Theophany," that is, the divine manifestation, God's appearance among men. On this ven-erable day the sacred mystery of Christian baptism was inaugurated; henceforth also began the saving preaching of the Kingdom of the Heavens.

Apolytikion of Holy Epiphany - First Tone Lord, when You were baptized in the Jordan, the veneration of the Trinity was revealed. For the voice of the Father gave witness to You, calling You Beloved, and the Spirit, in the guise of a dove, confirmed the certainty of His words. Glory to You, Christ our God, who appeared and enlightened the world.

Kontakion of Holy Epiphany - Fourth Tone You appeared to the world today, and Your light, O Lord, has left its mark upon us. With fuller understanding we sing to You: "You came, You were made manifest, the unapproach-able light."

PHILOPTOCHOS

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox

Ladies Erene Society Submitted by: Christine Cheronis, President

Καλή πρωτοχρονιά! Happy New Year! The Ladies Erene Society ended the 2019 year with several successful fundraisers to help provide donations to local and national organizations whose mission it is to help those in need by providing food, medical care and necessities of daily living. We thank all those who have supported the Erene Society fundraisers in 2019. We look forward to growing our organization in 2020 with new members and new ac-tivities to support our community. One new program that we will announce in 2020 is the St. Susan’s Kitchen Crew program. Parishioners will be given the opportunity to sign up for a Saturday during the year to volunteer at St. Susan’s Kitchen which is an important outreach mission that began with our own Priest, Father Nicholas Rafael. It is our wish, as the Ladies Erene Society, that we embrace this opportunity to serve our community by sending monthly “teams” once a month to assist St. Susan’s. Kim Tatoian is the coordinator for this new program and will be scheduling “teams”. Ask how you can participate! We look forward to 2020 with renewed enthusiasm for the mission of the Philoptochos Society in serving others. Please join us and help spread the joy of the Orthodox Faith through service to others.

If you are interested in joining or learning more about the Ladies Erene Society, please contact Christine Cheronis @ (814) 688-9712 or ccheronis@gmail.com

All Are Loved, All Are Welcome.

CHOIR NOTES AND THANK YOU

A NOTE FROM THE CHOIR The Music Ministry will be implementing a major “upgrade” beginning in 2020. For the first time in many years, we will be conducting Orthros every Sunday, beginning at ap-proximately 8:45 a.m. “Orthros”, means “morning”, “dawn”, or “daybreak”, and is a word derived from the Greek language. It is also referred to as “Matins” which comes from Latin. Orthros is the service of morning prayer that precedes and prepares for the Divine Liturgy, which will continue to be celebrated on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. If you arrive during Orthros, you may mistakenly think that you are late for the Divine Lit-urgy. The fact that worship and prayer are already in progress should not cause you to feel that you have chosen an ill-timed entrance. Rather, your senses should be alerted to the eternal, continuous worship that is always taking place in Heaven, and in which you have come to participate. Individual chanters sing the majority of Matins hymno-dy, and much of it differs from week to week and contains rich, multilayered theology appropriate to the liturgical day. The tone of the service, therefore, is one of prepara-tion, building towards the joy of the Divine Liturgy. It is my hope and prayer that parishioners will come to experience the Orthros services, as a way to nurture a deeper connection with God. Orthros services are drenched with psalms, Biblical passages and prayers set to melodies that help foster that bond. With love in Christ, Jim Cheronis

To my St. Nicholas Church Family, Thank you so much for the two beautiful sets of Vestments that you gave me as a gift for my ser-vice in Jamestown. It was a blessing and a privilege to serve as the Parish Priest of St. Nicholas Jame-stown, and these beautiful vestments will be a won-derful reminder of our time together. I served the Divine Liturgy this last Sunday wearing the gold and white Vestments. I received many nice comments about the beautiful Vest-ments. I look forward to the next Feastday where green is the liturgical color so I can celebrate the divine services wearing the gold and green vest-ments. Thank you!! Thank you for welcoming me into your hearts and homes during my time as your Parish Priest. I keep you all in my prayers and know that the Lord will continue to guide and bless you all in all the days to come. God be with you! With much love in Christ, Fr. Jarrod Russell

SUNDAY SCHOOL

Sunday School Christmas Pageant This year’s pageant showcased the talents of all our Sunday School students. All grade levels participated as either an actor, narrator, or helped to organize all the younger students. The performance even included violin talents we have in our Sunday School! It was truly a blessed program. None of this would be possible with out the hard work of our students and teachers. Thank you to everyone involved.

Sunday School Dinner Dance Come support our Sunday School program!!!

Saturday January 24th at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Appetizers at 5:30 pm then dinner at 6 pm.

Tickets: $20/Adult and $10/children

St. Nicholas Sunday School

Cordially invites you to Our:

Godparent Sunday Brunch All Godparents and their Godchildren welcome!

Tickets: Free (donations accepted)

January 25th after Divine Liturgy

Please make plans to join us on:

January 26th—Godparents’ Sunday

It is an opportunity for reconfirmation of Baptismal Vows by Godparents and their Godchildren.

This special service will take place just before Holy Communion.

A Brunch will be offered by the Sunday School to celebrate the day!

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ST. NICHOLAS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 15 Francis Street Jamestown, NY 14701 www.stnicholasjamestown.org E-mail: stnicholasjamestown@gmail.com

Sunday, December 15, 2019 Fr. Soterios celebrated the Sacrament of Chrismation of Larry (Eleftherios) Caskey following the Divine Liturgy. Congratulations to Larry and to his sponsors George and Kathy Theofilactidis