CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2010!

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1 The MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE HOLY TAXIARHAI AND SAINT HARALAMBOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 7373 CALDWELL AVENUE, NILES, ILLINOIS PHONE (847) Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18) JUNE- JULY 2010 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2010! PATRICIA ZAVOS TINA BOZIKIS HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE Main South University of Illinois-Chicago Bachelor of Science SPENCER PRODROMOS Purdue University Bachelor of Science TAYLOR PRODROMOS DePauw University Bachelor of Arts STELLA SUHAYDA Lake Forest College Bachelor of Arts GRADUATE STUDIES DIMITRI SKAOURIS University of Illinois-Chicago Masters in Business Administration Masters in Science-Accounting Our Congratulations and Best Wishes to all our High School and College Graduates of the Class of 2010! Και εις ανώτερα!

2 Sunday, June 20 9:45 am Divine WORSHIP SCHEDULE JUNE/JULY 2010 Sunday, June 27 9:45 am Divine Wednesday, June 30 The Twelve Holy Apostles 8:30 am Orthros and Divine Sunday, July 4 9:45 am Divine Sunday, July 11 9:45 am Divine Sunday, July 18 9:45 am Divine Tuesday, July 20 The Prophet Elias 8:30 am Orthros and Divine Sunday, July 25 9:45 am Divine Monday, July 26 St. Paraskevi 8:30 am Orthros and Divine Wednesday, July 28 St. Irene Chrysovalantou 8:30 am Orthros and Divine 2010 STEWARDSHIP & TITHING FIGHTING the GOOD FIGHT of the FAITH As of June 7, stewards have committed $240, Have you become a 2010 Steward yet? OUR 2010 BIG GREEK FOOD FeSt will take place July this summer. Mark your calendar! Please consider planning your vacation before or after our Fest; we need everyone's help! SACRAMENTS AND BLESSINGS BLESSINGS OF INFANTS Forty days after birth, a child and its mother come to church to receive a 40 Day Blessing, imitating Christ who was presented in the Temple 40 days after He was born. Please call the church office to arrange this blessing. BAPTISMS Please call the church office to schedule Baptisms. Plan ahead! there are some days when Baptisms are not performed. Keep in mind that there should be only one Godparent and that a child is supposed to be given but one name when he or she is baptized. WEDDINGS Please arrange an appointment with Fr. Dean at least eight months before the proposed wedding date to allow time for all necessary marriage preparation. CONFESSION Confessions are arranged by appointment. Please call the church office to schedule Confession. MINISTRY TO PERSONS WHO ARE SICK Orthodox Christians who would like to receive Holy Sacraments but are unable to attend church (hospitalized or at home) should contact the church office so Holy Sacraments can be administered to them. Please inform the church office if your loved one is hospitalized! Most hospitals no longer inform us when they receive patients from our parish. MEMORIAL SERVICES Memorial Services are offered for the eternal rest of persons who have fallen asleep in the Lord. Customarily, these services are offered at 40 days, at 6 months, at 1 year and at 3 years. When three years have passed, the departed are more properly remembered on the Saturdays of the Souls. DID YOU KNOW?... OUR CHURCH S TEACHING ABOUT CREMATION The New Testament teaches that the body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The body is further sanctified by the incarnation of Christ God becoming Man in the body. Consistent with this teaching, the body is an integral part of the whole person, and the Church teaches and expects the resurrection from the dead of the body and the soul, when God s Kingdom comes in its fullness. The Church considers cremation to be the deliberate desecration and destruction of what God has made, and insists that the body be buried for the natural process to take place. As the denial of the resurrection, in cases where there is intention for the body of a deceased person to be cremated, a church funeral is not allowed, either in the church, or the Funeral home or any other place. Additionally, memorial services with kolyva are not allowed, since the significance between the kernel of wheat and the body has been intentionally destroyed. 2

3 HOLY TAXIARHAI AND SAINT HARALAMBOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 7373 CALDWELL AVENUE, NILES, ILLINOIS PHONE: 847/ From Father Dean June 2010 Dear Friends and Fellow Stewards, Summer has officially begun! School s out; Graduation ceremonies are done; Jr. Olympics and our Memorial Day Family Picnic are now memories.. but good memories! If you did not make it to our Family Picnic, you missed a great time! Crowley Park is a beautiful facility with great playgrounds and shelter areas for eating. And you should have seen our Bocce Ball fanatics! And now, all our attention turns to our Big Greek FOOD FESt! One of the most important ways to make our Fest successful is with donations of the supplies that we need. For this reason, we have posted a big donation board in our Community Center, listing nearly all the items that we need. We ask you to look it over maybe there is something you would like to donate! Manpower and womanpower is also vital to the success of our Fest, before, during and after! Please plan to help make the souvlakia and set up our tents on Thursday, July 15; and to offer your help for one or two shifts during the Fest. We also would be very grateful for your help at cleanup on Monday and Tuesday, July 19-20! We are so grateful to those parishioners who schedule their summer vacation around the Festival so that they can be able to help. This is greatly appreciated! Let us be grateful to God, and enjoy all the wonderful opportunities that lay ahead! Fr. Dean PS: By the way, our Visions newsletter is in need of sponsors! If you can help us by sponsoring an ad in this newsletter, please call the church office! HOLY TAXIARHAI AND SAINT HARALAMBOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH NILES, ILLINOIS Proistamenos..Fr. Constantine P. Botsis Synefimerios Fr. Chrysanthos Kerkeres Pastoral Assistant..... Deacon John G. Suhayda Chanter......Nick Harisiadis Parish Council Officers President.. George Anastasiadis Vice President..... Nick Andrews Treasurer... George Houpis Secretary... Evangelos Anastasiadis Budget Committee Chairman...George Conopeotis Building & Grounds Chairman.....Michael Pontikes and Theodoros Karabatsos Decor Committee Chairman...Stephan Aliferakis Finance Committee Chairman...George Kotsionis Phase III Chairman...Pete Zouras School Board Chairman John Pierce Stewardship Com Chairman...Dr. Thomas Bournias Philoptochos President......Ritsa Bazianos PTA Co-Presidents (Afternoon School)...Linda Politis and Pauline Sarantopoulos PTA President (Preschool)... Joanne Kereakes Greek School Principal... Mrs. Anastasia Liapi GSL Director...Mrs. Evangelia Vlahou-Khouri Preschool Director......Mrs. Stacey Chiampas Sunday School Director...Presvytera Georgia Botsis Athletic Director David Loomos Scoutmasters...John Melonides and George Alpogianis YAL President......Patricia Grivas GOYA President... George Adams Book Store Manager... Jolynn Ruggerio Web Page John Melonides Office Staff.Barbara Skaouris and Alexandra Grivas IN THIS ISSUE: Letter from our Priest (pg 2) Parish Announcements (pg 4) Ανακοινώσεις (pg 4) Big Greek Food Fest of Niles (pp 6-7) Photographs: Parish Life (pp 8-9) Calendar (pg 10) DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ORTHODOX CHURCH? The Orthodox Church traces its origin to the Day of Pentecost, 50 days after Christ s Resurrection from the dead, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Holy Disciples. If you are interested in learning more about the Orthodox Faith, feel free to call the church office. Ongoing classes are offered! A program for adults who are not baptized or baptized but not Orthodox is also offered. Please call Fr. Chris Kerkeres ( ) if you have questions or would like to attend! 3

4 COMMUNITY NEWS AND ACTIVITIES 2010 STEWARDSHIP & TITHING: FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT OF OUR FAITH STEWARDSHIP AND TITHING IN 2010 This year, we have chosen the image of David slaying Goliath for our 2010 Stewardship Program, to remind us that Christian life is a struggle. As David fought for the faith, we recognize that pursuing excellence, morality, virtue and sanctification is a struggle, and that conscientious, sacrificial Stewardship is a part of our spiritual quest for salvation. We are grateful that more and more stewards understand that our stewardship giving should be proportional giving as we gradually begin the path to tithing. Tithing is the Biblical standard of 10% for supporting God s work, and reminds us that the stewardship of our material goods is linked to our Christian struggle. God considers us worthy of the many blessings we receive from Him; let us be not only worthy receivers, but worthy givers! ΕΝΟΡΙΑΚΕΣ ΑΝΑΚΟΙΝΩΣΕΙΣ STEWARDSHIP AND TITHING ΤΟΝ ΑΓΩΝΑ ΤΟΝ ΚΑΛΟΝ ΔΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΠΙΣΤΙΝ ΜΑΣ Δια το πρόγραμμα του 2010 Stewardship διαλέξαμε την εικόνα του Δαβίδ να πολεμάει τον Γολιάθ, δια να μας υπενθυμίζει ότι η Χριστιανική ζωή είναι ένας αγώνας. Βλέποντας τον αγώνα του Δαβίδ δια την πίστην του στον Έναν Θεόν, αναγνωρίζουμε ότι είναι αγώνας το να επιδιώκουμε την καλλιτέρευση, την αρετή, την ηθική, και τον καθαγιασμό, και ότι το Ευσυνείδητο Stewardship είναι μέρος της πνευματικής μας αναζήτησης δια την σωτηρία. Είμεθα ευγνώμονες που όλο και περισσότεροι stewards αντιλαμβάνονται ότι η προσφορά μας προς το Stewardship πρέπει να είναι ανάλογη με τα αγαθά που μας έχει δώσει ο Θεός, καθώς ξεκινάμε βαθμιαία το μονοπάτι του Δέκατου. Το Δέκατο (10%) είναι η κανονική προσφορά του καθενός ανθρώπου, όπως περιγράγει η Παλαιά Διαθήκη, δια την υποστήριξη του έργου του Θεού, και μας θυμίζει ότι το Stewardship των υλικών αγαθών μας συνδέεται με τον Χριστιανικό μας αγώνα. Ο Θεός μας θεωρεί άξιους των άφθονων ευλογιών που μας δίνει ας γίνουμε άξιοι όχι μόνον να λαμβάνουμε αλλά άξιοι και να δίνουμε! PRE-REGISTRATION has begun for the Greek School and GSL year! Register early to guarantee that your children will have a place in Greek School. Registration forms are available in the church office. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEW GOYA OFFICERS FOR ! We congratulate our new GOYA Officers for : Co-Presidents: Evangelia Alpogianis & Yiannis Floros Vice Pres: Kriztina Dagrizikos Board Members: James Vlahopoulos, Demetrios Kontogianis, Alexander Petroulakis, Vasilios Stefanis and Sofia Parmakis. ΟΙ ΕΓΓΡΑΦΕΣ ΔΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΣΧΟΛΙΚΗ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ έχουν αρχίσει δια τα σχολεία του Απογευματινού και GSL. Γράψτε εγκαίρως τα παιδιά σας δια να έχουν μια θέση στο Ελληνικό Σχολείο. Έντυπα εγγραφής διατίθενται στο γραφείο της εκκλησίας. 4

5 ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΑΠΟΓΕΥΜΑΤΙΝΟ ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟ «ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΗΣ» Προεγγραφές Ελληνικού Σχολείου για το σχολικό έτος : Σας παρακαλούμε να υποστηρίξετε την προσπάθειά μας για την ομαλή έναρξη της νέας σχολικής χρονιάς και να γράψετε τα παιδιά σας έγκαιρα στο ελληνικό σχολείο. Θα λειτουργήσουν τμήματα: Προνηπιαγωγείου Δ τάξης Νηπιαγωγείου Ε τάξης Α τάξης ΣΤ τάξης Β τάξης Γυμνασίου Γ τάξης Θα θέλαμε εκ των προτέρων να σας ευχαριστήσουμε θερμά για τη συμβολή σας στην ομαλή λειτουργία του έργου του σχολείου. ARISTOTLE AFTERNOON GREEK SCHOOL Pre-registration for the School Year Please, support our effort to start the school year on a successful note and pre-register your child! Registration forms are now available in the church office. We do thank you for helping us get the year off to a successful start. Anastasia Liapi Principal 5

6 SAINT HARALAMBOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH INVITES YOU TO THE BIG GREEK FOOD FEST OF NILES 7373 CALDWELL AVENUE, NILES, ILLINOIS - PHONE (847) FRI, JULY 16-5 PM to 12 MIDNIGHT SAT, JULY 17-3 PM to 12 MIDNIGHT SUN, JULY 18-3 PM to 12 MIDNIGHT AUTHENTIC GREEK FOOD GREEK PASTRIES ROASTED LAMB CHILDRENS CORNER (MagiciaN, CRAFTS, Face PaiNtiNG AND MORE!) IMPORTED GREEK WINES GREEK TAVERNA LOUKOUMATHES FESTIVAL DANCERS COOKING CLASSES GRAND RAFFLE! FIRST PRIZE: a LUXURIOUS NEW 2011 AUDI A4 SEDAN A NEW HARLEY DAVIDSON, OR $20,000 SECOND PRIZE : $2000 THIRD PRIZE : $1000 fourth PRIZE : $ 500 FIFTH PRIZE : $ 500 OR FREE ADMISSION BEFORE 5:00! CHILDREN UNDER 12 FREE! SENIOR CITIZENS over 65 $1.00 ATM AVAILABLE! 6

7 THE BIg greek FOOD FEST OF NILES JULY 16-18, 2010 FEST UPDATE: Did you know that we only have about 4 weeks until Our 2010 Big Greek Food Fest? This year s Fest will take place July 16-18! We are all proud of the Greek Food Fest of Niles. We have an excellent reputation for succulent food and delicious pastries, and many people are looking forward to attending. Our Fest is one of only two major fund-raising activities in our community, and we really need YOUR help for it to be a BIG success! Obviously, you are our greatest resource. Please plan to offer your service to our Food Fest. People from other parishes will come as guests; we depend on the members of Saint Haralambos to be the hosts and hostesses. Please plan to volunteer at least one evening during this year's Festival! These are the other ways you can help: FEST RAFFLE--We have 5 wonderful raffle prizes this year: First Prize is a new Audi A4 Sedan, or a new Harley Davidson, or $20,000 cash! Second Prize is $2000 cash, Third Prize is $1000 cash, Fourth Prize is $500 and Fifth Prize is $500! But the prizes are only meaningful if we sell the tickets! This year, we are selling Books of Five Tickets for $100, or individual tickets at only $25. Can you help sell tickets? Have you bought yours yet? DONATIONS--Donations are the key to the success of our Fest! Have you seen the shopping list that was sent out a few days ago? Isn t it amazing to see how many supplies we need for our BIG Greek Food Fest? Would you like to donate a lamb, a case of chickens, or some olives or Feta? Fest supplies and monetary donations are all greatly appreciated! SOUVLAKI MAKING AND FEST SET-UP--Thursday, July 15 will be Souvlaki Day! Again, we need your help. Beginning at 8:00 am, we will be working all day in the Community Center, skewering our souvlakia! On the same day (Thursday), we will set up tables and chairs in the tents, and there will be a cook-out that evening for all our Fest workers and volunteers. Remember, the Fest is July 16-18! CLEAN-UP! We would appreciate all the help we can get on Monday, the day after the Fest! There is so much work to do Can you help? Please come Monday morning or afternoon! So there you have it! We need help before the Fest begins, to prepare foods, and to set up. We need to sell raffle tickets for five wonderful prizes. We need help the days of the Fest, to cook, to serve, to greet our visitors and friends, and we need help to clean up on the days after! All help would be greatly appreciated! Can we count on you for some help? Please don't wait to be asked, but offer your help! 7

8 St. Haralambos Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow Spring Fellowship at Camp Napowan Adventure Base in Wild Rose, Wisconsin Memorial Day FamilyPicnic 8

9 2010 Jr. Olympics Aristotle Greek School Graduation 9

10 June 2010 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 20 FATHERS DAY 9:45 am Divine EARLY BIRD RAFFLE! 21 St. Haralambos Golf Outing 7:00pm-Food Fest V A C A T I O N C H U R C H S C H O O L 27 9:45 am Divine Ss. Peter and Paul (Glenview) 30 Holy Apostles 8:30 Orthros and 7:00pm-Food Fest Meeting 4 9:45 am Divine HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! July :30 pm -Synergy :00pm-Food Fest Meeting :45 am Divine 18 9:45 am Divine :30 pm Parish Council Mtg. Make Souvlakia Set up tables and chairs in tents 22 Mary Madalene and Markella 8:30 -Orthros and :45 am Divine 26 St. Paraskevi 8:30 -Orthros and St. Irene Chrysovalantou 8:30 -Orthros and

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12 HOLY TAXIARHAI AND SAINT HARALAMBOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 7373 CALDWELL AVENUE NILES, IL Address Service Requested PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID MILWAUKEE, WI PERMIT #5654 THE BIG GREEK FOOD FEST OF NILES JULY 16-18, 2010 OR A NEW HARLEY DAVIDSON OR $20,000! SECOND PRIZE: $ 2000 THIRD PRIZE: $ 1000 FOURTH PRIZE: $ 500 FIFTH PRIZE: $ 500 EarlY BIRD DRAWING -- SUNDAY, JUNE WIN $1000! (Only Books of Five Tickets are eligible for the Early Bird Drawing.) Book of Five Tickets--$100 Single ticket $25 Do you have your tickets yet? 12