THE PHOS CHURCH SERVICES. Coming up in Oct-Nov: To see the Phos in colour, visit our website at: PRESIDENTS REPORT.

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1 Oct-Nov 2013 Περιοδικό τῆς Ἐνορίας-Κοινότητος Ἁγίας Ἄννας, Χρυσή Ἀκτή Newsletter of the Greek Orthodox Parish- Community of St Anna, Gold Coast 31 a Crombie Ave, Bundall PO Box 5074 GCMC Qld 9726 (07) , admin@gocstanna.org If you would like to receive the Phos in colour by send your address to On the 27 August 2013 we were proud to witness Mr Steven Ciobo, Federal Member for Moncrieff, present the 2013 Moncrieff Community Awards to six volunteers from this community. The award recipients were Alex Adamidis, Georgia Georghiou, George Ioannides, Georgia Kalas, Spiro Levanes and Thalia Zakos. We congratulate and thank each recipient for their contribution and support to the Greek Community of St Anna, Gold Coast. Thanks also go to Mr John Carras for taking many photographs on the night. John works tirelessly for this parish in highlighting our many events. On Wednesday 28 th of August 2013, our Greek School children participated in our first ever Father s Day concert. The programme included speeches, songs and recital of poems from our prep s to our senior students. The students did a wonderful job in celebrating Father s Day! We give thanks to the Ladies Auxiliary on the night for providing tea, coffee, and refreshments and to the parents who brought along a plate of sweets and savouries for all of us to enjoy. We were blessed to have in our presence on Sunday the 8 th of September 2013, The V. Rev. Dr Themistocles Adamopoulo, (Father Themi) from Sierra Leone (Africa). Our Community hosted a fundraiser on the day to assist Fr Themi in his missionary and charity work in Sierra Leone. The monies raised will assist him in his commitment to improve basic living conditions eg. food, water, education, medicine etc. Father Roman and Father Themi conducted the Divine Liturgy in church with Father Themi reading the Gospel. After the church service, a fundraising brunch was held which was hosted by the Ladies Auxiliary. We had many special guests on the day, which included Ricardo Viana, President of the Multicultural Communities Council and his wife Ana, Deirdre Hanna, Founding President and Founder of Paradise Kids, Betty Beverly, Board member of Paradise Kids, Peter Watkins, member of the Hopewell Hospice, Mrs Betty Vaggelas, a generous supporter of our community and also Hopewell admin@gocstanna.org PRESIDENTS REPORT Hospice and Paradise Kids, Vandy Kamara, who is originally from Sierra Leone who now works at Mission Australia, Dylan Zack, from Zarrafas Coffee chain, and Louis Toumbas who works behind the scenes for Fr Themi and actively promotes PK4A (Paradise Kids 4 Africa). Fr Themi provided a CD presentation and talk of his missionary work, and the profound poverty and hardship that exists in Sierra Leone. Our community raised on the day a sizeable amount of money for just a relatively small community. We raised a total of $8, These funds will directly assist those who are in desperate need. We don t know how lucky we are to have electricity and running water, medicine and the basic essentials, whereas over in Sierra Leone this is rarity. The fund raising event would not be a success without the work done by our Ladies Auxiliary who put on a sumptuous display of food. Many thanks to you all! We also thank Vandy Kamara who provided an informative and eye-opening talk of his personal journey through Sierra Leone with the Sunday School students. We have received positive feedback from many sources since the fundraiser. Ms Deirdre Hanna said Thank you to St Anna again for your very welcoming and gracefilled hospitality. You represent the true Church of Love in Action. It has been brought to our attention that over a period of time people have been bringing in their unwanted items and or furniture from home and leaving them at the community hall or at church. If you feel the item can be of use to our church please discuss with Father Roman first. The same situation applies to the community hall, if you have an item that you feel can be used in our community hall please discuss with the Ladies Auxiliary in the first instance. Thank you for your understanding. James Nides President Coming up in Oct-Nov: Oct 1 Bribie Island Visit Oct 18 Taverna night Oct 27 OXI day lunch Nov 5 High Tea CHURCH SERVICES See Inside To see the Phos in colour, visit our website at: or go to our website

2 Page 2 LADIES AUXILIARY NEWS Fundraising Brunch for Father Themi Orthodox Mission in Sierra Leon. What a wonderful day was had by all who attended this fundraiser to assist Father Themi in continuing the Orthodox Missions valuable work with the underprivileged of Sierra Leon. The presentation by Father Themi really made you stop and think how lucky we are to live in Australia. It was heart wrenching to see children dying from lack of food and water and living in such squalor. Sunday 27th October OXI Celebrations After the liturgy we will be holding a lunch in our hall where children of our Greek School will recite their poems. We will forward further information to you as the day gets closer. Saturday 5th November High Tea with guest speaker local Gold Coast girl Effie Zakos, Editor of Money Magazine. The money raised on the day, including the door ticket and the many donations made by families who were unable to attend amounted to $8,200. This was a wonderful effort by our Parishioners and will go a long way towards the mission of the Church. God bless you all and may God give health and strength to Father Themi to continue his mission for many years to come. St Anna s Day Thank you to Jim and Nick Karkazis of Ashmore Seafood and Steakhouse for once again looking after us so well. We were blessed with the company of Father Themi who assisted Father Romanos with the liturgy and then joined us for lunch. 75 people attended the lunch on the day including ladies of St Paraskevis Ladies Auxiliary and our own Respite and Seniors groups. EVENTS TO REMEMBER Tuesday 1st October Official opening of Bribie Island Retreat. Please see flyer in this edition of the Phos BUS WILL LEAVE ST ANNA AT 7AM SHARP Friday 18th October Taverna Night Please see flyer in this edition of the Phos. Father Themi s Visit

3 Page 3 Our Mondcrieff Award members. From left, Spiro Levanes, Georgia Kalas, George Ionnides, Thalia Zakos, Georgia Gheorghiou s son accepting on her behalf and Alex Adamidis in the second row.. CAMP MAPLETON SPIRITUAL CORNER In late July, some of our youth attended a youth camp organised by the Dormition of the Theotokos church of Mt. Gravatt. The camp involved a lot of recreational activities including bush walking, canoeing, various sports activities and a movie night. Fr Roman came for a day visit and showed the kids how to make prosphoro which the kids really enjoyed. The camp was a great opportunity for our kids to meet other kids from different parishes. The camp proved to be a great success with many saying they can't wait for the next camp. A big thankyou to Fr Nicholas and Presvytera Maria and Zoe Stephanos for organising a wonderful youth camp. Είπε ένας Γέροντας: «Τίποτε δεν παροργίζει τόσο τον Θεό και τίποτε δεν απογυμνώνει τόσο τον άνθρωπο από τη χάρη, ώστε να φτάσει και σε εγκατάλειψη από μέρους του Θεού, όσο το να κατηγορεί τον πλησίον του ή να τον κατακρίνει ή να τον εξουθενώνει. Και είναι τόσο βαρύτερη η κατάκριση από κάθε άλλη αμαρτία, ώστε ο ίδιος ο Χριστός λέει: «Υποκριτή, βγάλε πρώτα το δοκάρι που έχεις στο μάτι σου και τότε θα δείς καθαρά για να βγάλεις το σκουπιδάκι που βρίσκεται στο μάτι του αδελφού σου (Λουκ. 6,42). Παρομοίασε δηλαδή το αμάρτημα του πλησίον με το σκουπιδάκι, ενώ την κατάκριση με το δοκάρι. Είναι τόσο κακό το να κατακρίνει κανείς σχεδόν ξεπερνά κάθε αμαρτία. Επομένως τίποτε δεν είναι βαρύτερο, αδελφοί μου, ούτε χειρότερο από το να καταδικάσουμε ή να εξουθενώσουμε τον πλησίον. Γιατί να μη προτιμούμε να κατακρίνουμε τον εαυτό μας; Και εννοώ τα κακά τα δικά μας που καλά τα γνωρίζουμε και για τα οποία πρόκεται να δώσουμε λόγο στον Θεό. Γιατί αρπάζουμε το δικαίωμα της κρίσης του Θεού; Τι θέλουμε από το πλάσμα του, τι θέλουμε από τον πλησίον; Τί ζητάμε από τα βάρη του άλλου; Έχουμε, αδελφοί τι να φροντίσουμε. Ο καθείς ας προσέχει τον εαυτό του και τις δικές του κακίες, Η εξουσία να δικαιώνει και να καταδικάζει, ανήκει μόνο στον Θεό, που γνωρίζει και την κατάσταση του καθενός και τη δύναμη τον τρόπο της ζωής και τα χαρίσματά του την ιδιοσυγκρασία και τις ικανότητες του ανήκει στον Θεό πού κρίνει ανάλογα με το καθένα απ αυτά, όπως ο ίδιος μόνος τά γνωρίζει».

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6 Page 6 About GOC Care GOC Care is a not-for-profit, provider of community care services assisting eligible seniors and others to remain in their homes with independence and dignity, with the help of a number of support services. Established by the Greek Orthodox Community of St. George, GOC Care is funded by the government to deliver services throughout Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast, to both Greek persons and the wider community. With satellite locations at Taigum and the Gold Coast, GOC Care seeks to meet the needs of eligible persons. Being a government funded agency GOC Care is subject to rigorous scrutiny and accountability from governance, organisational management, standards of practice, service coordination, through to direct care in the community. This is reflected in the high standard of professional conduct and performance of the staff and programs and evidenced in the results of government and independent audits which are conducted regularly. GOC Care Services GOC Care delivers a range of services, commencing with clients who need just a little assistance to remain at home, through to others who need more comprehensive care. In Brisbane, those receiving introductory levels of service, such as domestic assistance, social support, etc, number approximately 600. At the Gold Coast, this introductory service is offered through the St. Anna s Centre-based Day Respite Service, which operates Mondays and Thursdays, phone or Intermediate and more comprehensive levels of care are provided by our Home Care Packages Program and includes the services listed above as well as transport to medical appointments, respite assistance, medication management, and more frequent monitoring and supervision of clients. GOC Care delivers a total of 206 Home Care Packages; 143 from our Brisbane office and 63 from the Gold Coast office. Planning for a Disaster? What I would like to share with you at this time is the importance of thinking about how you would cope during a Disaster. In the wake of the Brisbane floods, agencies such as GOC Care, who provide services to seniors and others, are now required to share information with clients about planning for a Disaster. Major disasters are rare, but they do happen. When they occur they can cause loss of life, injury, damage to property, and a disruption of services. During the Brisbane floods, several clients were trapped in their homes without food, phone or electricity. All were ill-equipped for the disaster as well as the consequences that followed. To help you prepare for a potential disaster, GOC Care has developed a Household Disaster Management Plan, which highlights important points, ideas, and suggestions about how you can prepare for a disaster. It also contains information about useful agencies and contacts that can assist you before, during and after a disaster. For a copy of the GOC Care Household Disaster Management Plan, please ring , and a copy will be posted. Should you require additional assistance in developing your Plan, staff from GOC Care can assist. If you have any questions or suggestions about GOC Care please do not hesitate to contact our helpful staff. All the best and thank you. Lorraine Angeli Manager: Aged and Community Care Clients & Staff at the St. Anna s Centre-based Day Respite Program

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8 Page 8 Senior Citizens We meet at our Hall at am on Tuesdays. BYO Food Θά συναντηθούμε στο χώλ μας 10,30 π.μ. με τα φαγητά μας We have had two special birthdays at the Senior Citizens recently. We congratulate Mrs Katina Patselis who celebrated her 90th birthday and Mrs Kitsa Leonidas who celebrated her 80th birthday. Katina Patselis Vaso Kyriakou would like to thank everybody who sent cards and best wishes on the passing of her beloved husband, Bill. She would also like to thank everyone who attended the church service and made donations on the day. On Monday 9th September the Senior Citizens celebrated St Anna s day with other members of the community at a luncheon held at Ashmore Steak and Seafood restaurant. All the members said it was a very enjoyable lunch. Kitsa Leonidas Kollyva Memorials with Kollyva can not be conducted between the Saturday of Lazarus and the Sunday of St. Thomas; on the major feast days of our Lord and the Parish Church nor on the 15th Aug, the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. To arrange for Kollyva, contact Eleni Paris on Father Romanos Stergiou Parish Priest Phone: Mobile: Fax: father@gocstanna.org Office Hours: by appointment please call directly