2015 SPRING 2015 Hellenic Community Of Vancouver St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral On Thursday, March 5th, our ST. GEORGE YOUTH groups, under the direction of our Youth Coordinator Elleni Asimakis, made a difference in the lives of many. Our GOYANS made care packages which contained a sandwich, fruit, a juice box, a granola bar and a rice crispy square for dessert. The care packages were put into brown paper bags, such were decorated by our HOPE and JOY youth. Our young adults, ENA, helped by distributing 437 care packages on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. This was made possible through generous donation from our Philoptochos and families in our Community. During Great Lent we are called to refocus ourselves on Christ through prayer, fasting, but also by giving alms to the living icons of Christ, which are the poor. Before distributing the packages Fr. Constantinos encouraged the youth by telling them that, "when you feed the poor, you feed God!" Announcements Programs Youth Programs & how to stay connected A few words from your Parish Priest & 6-7 2-4 Reminders Community Events & Important Dates! 5 7-9
Dear members, A few words from your Parish Priest Spring is a time for growth and renewal, both physical and spiritual, and a time as Orthodox Christians where we prepare for, and look towards Pascha, the Resurrection of our Lord. We have been so blessed over the last few months to witness this growth and renewal in our Community. We had a beautiful Great Vespers of Forgiveness to mark the beginning of Great Lent, and then hosted Pan Orthodox Great Vespers on Sunday March 1 st with hundreds of different Orthodox in attendance. In February we began our biweekly youth groups, which have grown and flourished. We now have over 100 of our youth, between the ages of 0 and 25, consistently participating in our programs. A few highlights have been our our HOPE & JOY day camp which was themed around forgiveness and had our children go skating, the GOYA day camp which talked about Fasting, Praying and Almsgiving and had our youth go to the Extreme Air Trampoline Park, and on March 20 th ENA had their Blue & White Greek Night celebrating Greek Independence Day in the small hall with about 60 young adults attending. Our Orthodox Parents Association OPA has met twice now and both times had great discussion centered on our faith. Our three Greek Orthodox Communities came together once again and proudly celebrated the Doxology, Memorial and Wreath Laying Ceremony, and Concert all in commemoration of Greek Independence Day. Our Community hosted a traditional free hot lunch, and everyone enjoyed the day as one, united, Greek Orthodox Family in Metro Vancouver. Our youth are breathing new life into our Community, thank God, so lets continue to support them, pray for them and build them up through our loving example. Our Church Community is a home away from home and I encourage you this Holy Week to rededicate yourselves, and your families, to our St. George Hellenic Community Family. Attend services as a family on Palm Sunday, and stay and enjoy lunch with our Community family. Come to Holy Week Services as a family and live your faith. We are committed to using as much English as possible and explaining the services each and every day. As is tradition, on Holy Friday night, our young ladies will make us proud by dressing as myrofores and decorating the Epitaphio (Christ s tomb with flowers). On Holy Saturday we will have the Proti-Anastasi, or First Resurrection Services, which is specifically for our youth and is a beautiful service where for the first time we proclaim that Christ is Risen, and the youth will help in celebrating this. I will speak to the youth and ask them to help proclaim that Christ is Risen by banging on the pews as our Priests spread flowers throughout the Church. Holy Saturday Evening this year, we will start a new tradition in our Community by having our young ladies again dress as Myrofores and before Anasasti receive the Holy Light from our Priests. Our young ladies will then spread the light throughout our Church. This tradition will honor our young ladies and truly mirror the spirit of the Myrofores, the Myrhbearing women, who were the first to go to Christ s tomb and to witness the Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-20). Let s live our faith together and as one family gather to celebrate Pascha and allow this most blessed time of year help us renew ourselves physically and spiritually with new light and life in Christ our Lord, who will be Resurrected for our all of us. I hope to have the privilege of celebrating all of these Holy Days with your and your families this year. WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES A BLESSED PASCHA! Rev. Fr. Constantinos Economos Parish Priest 2
Αγαπητά Μέλη, ΜΗΝΥΜΑ ΑΠΟ ΤΟΝ ΙΕΡΑΤΙΚΟ ΠΡΟΪΣΤΑΜΕΝΟ Η Ανοιξη είναι εποχή για σωµατική και ψυχική ανάπτυξη και ανανέωση, και σαν Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί προετοιµαζόµασε και προσβλέπουµε στο Πάσχα, την Ανάσταση του Χριστού µας. Εχουµε τόσο ευλογηθή τους λίγους τελευταίους µήνες που βλέπουµε αυτή την ανάπτυξη και την ανανέωση στην Κοινότητά µας. Είχαµε ωραίο Εσπερινό της Συγχωρήσεως για να σηµειώσουµε την έναρξη της Μεγάλης Σαρακοστής, και µετά είχαµε εδώ τον Πανορθόδοξο Εσπερινό την Κυριακή της 1ης Μαρτίου, µε εκατοντάδες διαφορετικούς Ορθόδοξους παρευρισκοµένους. Τον Φεβρουάριο αρχίσαµε τα προγράµµατα νεολαίας, τα οποία έχουν αυξηθή και ανθίσει. Εχουµε τώρα πάνω από 100 νέα παιδιά, από ηλικίες 0-25 ετών, τα οποία παρακολουθούν τα προγράµµατα ανελλιπώς. Αξίζει να σηµειώσουµε τα γκρούπς HOPE και JOY τα οποία είχαν ηµερήσια κατασκήνωση όπου το θέµα ήταν Συγχώρηση, και τα παιδιά µετά πήγαν skating, επίσης το γκρούπ GOYA είχαν ηµερήσια κατασκήνωση και εµίλησαν για την νηστεία, προσευχή και ελεηµοσύνη και µετά ακολούθησε εκδροµή στο πάρκο τραµπολίν στο Ρίτσµοντ. Το δε ENA είχαν Ελληνική βραδυά στο µικρό χώλ για να γιορτάσουν την ηµέρα της Ελληνικής Ανεξαρτησίας, όπου 60 νέοι και νέες παρευρέθηκαν. Ο Σύλλογος Ορθοδόξων Γονέων (OPA) µας έχει συναντηθεί δύο φορές κατά τις οποίες είχαµε ωραία συζήτηση γύρω από την Πίστη µας. Και οι τρείς Ορθόδοξες Κοινότητές µας ήλθαν µαζί και πάλι για µία ακόµη φορά και κάναµε την Δοξολογία, µνηµόσυνα και την τελετή κατάθεσης των στεφάνων, και µετά γιορτή για να εορτάσουµε την Ελληνική Ηµέρα της Ανεξαρτησίας. Η Κοινότητά µας προσέφερε δωρεάν µεσηµβρινό σε όλους, και όλοι ευχαριστήθηκαν την ηµέρα σαν µία Ελληνική Ορθόδοξη οικογένεια της Περιφερείας του Βανκούβερ. Η Νεολαία µας δίδει νέα ζωή στην Κοινότητά µας, και ευχαριστούµε τον Θεό γι αυτό, και ας συνεχίσουµε να την υποστηρίζουµε, να προσευχόµαστε γι αυτήν και να της δίδουµε το καλό παράδειγµά µας. Η Εκκλησία και Κοινότητά µας είναι το σπίτι µας µακριά από το σπίτι και σας ενθαρρύνω την Μεγάλη Εβδοµάδα να αφιερώσετε πάλι τους εαυτούς σας, και τις οικογένειές σας, στην Οικογένεια του Αγίου Γεωργίου και της Ελληνικής Κοινότητας. Παρακολουθήστε την λειτουργία την Κυριακή των Βαίων, και παραµείνετε να έχετε µεσηµβρινό µε την Οικογένεια της Ελληνικής Κοινότητας. Ελάτε στις ακολουθίες της Μεγάλης Εβδοµάδας σαν µία οικογένεια και ζήστε την Πίστη σας. Υποσχόµεθα να χρησιµοποιούµε όσο το δυνατόν περισσότερα Αγγλικά και να εξηγούµε τις ακολουθείες καθηµερινά. Οπως είναι η παράδοση, την Μεγάλη Παρασκευή το βράδυ οι νέες κοπέλες θα µας κάνουν υπερήφανους µε το να ντυθούν Μυροφόρες και να στολίσουν τον Επιτάφιο (τάφος του Χριστού µε λουλούδια). Το Μεγάλο Σάββατο θα έχουµε την Πρώτη Ανάσταση που είναι ειδικά για την νεολαία και είναι ωραία ακολουθία όπου για πρώτη φορά αναφέρουµε ότι ο Χριστός αναστήθηκε, και η νεολαία µας θα µας βοηθήσει να εορτάσουµε. Θα οµιλήσω στους νέους και θα τους ερωτήσω να βοηθήσουν στο να πούµε ότι ο Χριστός αναστήθηκε, µε το να κτυπήσουν τα στασίδια την ώρα που οι Ιερείς µας θα σκορπούν τα λουλούδια σε όλην την εκκλησία. Το απόγευµα του Μεγάλου Σαββάτου αυτόν τον χρόνο, θα αρχίσουµε µία νέα παράδοση στην Κοινότητά µας µε το να έχουµε πάλι τις νεαρές κοπέλες ντυµένες Μυροφόρες και πριν την Ανάσταση να λάβουν το Αγιο Φως από τους ιερείς. Οι νέες αυτές κοπέλες τότε θα δώσουν το φώς σε όλην την εκκλησία µας. Αυτή η παράδοση θα τιµήσει τις νεαρές κοπέλες µας και πραγµατκά θα καθρεπτίσουν την ψυχή των Μυροφόρων οι οποίες ηταν οι πρώτες που πήγαν στον τάφο του Χριστού και είδαν την Ανάσταση. Ας ζήσουµε την πίστη µας µαζί και σαν µία οικογένεια να συγκεντρωθούµε να εορτάσουµε το Πάσχα και να επιτρέψουµε σε αυτήν την πιο ευλογηµένη περίοδο του χρόνου να µας βοηθήσει να ανανεωθούµε σωµατικά και ψυχικά µε νέο φώς και ζωή εν Χριστώ, ο οποίος θα αναστηθεί για όλους µας. Ευελπιστώ αυτόν τον χρόνο να έχω τo προνόµιο να εορτάσω όλες αυτές τις Θείες Ηµέρες µαζί µε σας και τις οικογένειές σας. Σας εύχοµαι Ευλογηµένο Πάσχα και Καλή Ανάσταση! Ο π. Κωνσταντίνος Οικονόµου 3
SPRING 2015 A few words from your President The past few months have been an eventful for the Hellenic Community Centre. We are so excited to introduce are new board and hit the ground running on some fantastic initiatives. The Hellenic Community Center is welcoming new programs including our biweekly youth groups, which have grown and increased. We now have over 100 of our youth, between the ages of 0 and 25, consistently participating in our programs. We have also had two successful day camps, one for our HOPE/JOY group and the other for our GOYA group. We also have a Day Camp coming up on April 6th for all youth in kindergarten to grade 6. You could also maybe mention that we want to encourage the babies to be members in our community by coming to the Easter egg hunt on April 6th, 10 AM to Noon. Information on these events can be found on the Facebook page or by calling the office. This is a great way for our community to connect and come together. Tsalikis Greek Concert - May 9th Gold Plate Dinner - May 13th Greek Day - June 28th This community has a long tradition of providing our community with arts and recreation opportunities. Greek Independence day was a success! We had a beautiful service and ceremony with a packed hall afterwards. Let s encourage this tradition and the celebrations of our heritage continue to flourish in the years to come. On behalf of the board we wish you a blessed Pascha - Καλή Ανάσταση! Effie Kerasiotis President 4
COMMUNITY EVENTS GOLD PLATE DINNER May 13 th Our Annual Gold Plate Dinner is just around the corner. To purchase your tickets and for more information call the community s office at 604.266.7148 GREEK SCHOOL FIELD TRIP June 1 st Our Community has many fun and exciting events that take place. Get involved and make memories that last a lifetime! EASTER EGG HUNT April 6 th Join the Saint George Youth for our Easter Egg Hunt. All youth, 6 years old and younger, and their families are invited to participate in crafts, games & an Easter Egg Hunt in the small hall from 10 AM Noon. Please e-mail hcv.stgeorgeyouth@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page at St.George Vancouver Youth to RSVP. Tickets: $5/per child DAY CAMP (Grade 6 & younger) April 6 th All Greek school children are invited to join in on the fun at Play Palace on June 1 st, from 5 PM 7 PM. For more information please e-mail greekschool@helleniccommunity.org GREEK SCHOOL CELEBRATION June 14 th Join the Greek School of the Hellenic Community of Vancouver in celebrating a successful year of learning & growth! The end of the year concert will begin at 1 PM. Stay tuned for more information. For any questions, email greekschool@helleniccommunity.org GREEK DAY JUNE 28 TH Save the date! Volunteers are need for our community s booth - More information coming soon. On April 6 th, 2015 all youth in grade 6 and younger are welcomed to join our Easter day camp, from 10 AM 4 PM! Youth are asked to meet in the church overflow area. Please e-mail hcv.stgeorgeyouth@gmail.com to RSVP! Members: $10/child Non-Members: $15/child CAMP MET BC CARWASH April 26 th Come out on Sunday, April 26 th to support Camp Metamorphosis BC! Bring your car, grab a hot dog, chips & snacks from 11 AM 3 PM. All proceeds go towards Camp Metamorphosis BC. If you have any questions or are interested in helping out please e-mail campmetbc@gmail.com. GIORGOS TSALIKIS CONCERT May 9 th On May 9 th, Giorgos Tsalikis will be coming to town! TICKETS ARE LIMITED! Tickets will NOT be sold at the door. Call the Hellenic Community at 604.266.7148 to purchase your tickets. MOTHERS DAY LUNCH May 10 th Join us in thanking all the wonderful mothers in our community! Save the date & stay tuned for more information. 5
PROGRAMS SAINT GEORGE VANCOUVER YOUTH GROUPS Our Community is committed to reaching out to all our members. We are working diligently and comprehensively to create programs for all ages that gather, nurture, inspire and celebrate our Hellenic Culture & Orthodox Christian Faith. Through social & educational programs we can effectively gather the members of our community and unite and support them as one Greek Orthodox Family. Our youth programs will also act as a tool to bring the youth in our community closer by always presenting our Culture and Faith through fun and creative activities and events, which will promote lasting friendships and great memories! We are very excited to announce the kick off of our NEW youth groups! The Saint George Youth Groups will be comprised of 5 individual groups Playgroup (0-4years), HOPE (Hellenic Orthodox Pre Youth 4-8years), JOY (Junior Orthodox Youth 8-12years), GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth 13-17years) and ENA (Young Adults Youth 17-25years). For more information please see our Facebook page: St. George Vancouver Youth or e-mail us at hcv.stgeorgeyouth@gmail.com WEDNESDAY EVENING LITURGY Every Wednesday Evening there will be Divine Liturgy from 6 7 PM done in English. This is a wonderful opportunity to stop your busy week, come out, pray and recharge your spiritual batteries. It is a full Divine Liturgy, which includes Holy Communion. If you are preparing to receive Holy Communion you should try and not eat (fast) from Lunch-time onwards in order be prepared and receive Communion. BYZANTINE CHANTING Byzantine Music classes take place every Monday Evening from 6:30 7:30 PM under the direction of our Chanter Mr. Athanasios Golias. If you are interested in learning how to Chant please approach Fr. Costa or Thanasi our Chanter to get involved. GREEK SCHOOL Message from the Principal and the Greek School Committee: Our Greek school has been undergoing some changes over the past 2 years leading to our program this year, where we are teaching Greek as a second language. The objective of our Greek school is for our students to learn to speak Greek and become familiar with their heritage (through Greek dance, Greek mythology/history and drama). The school is using a new Consectetuer: set of books (Preschool to level 7) and each grade is using the same books and workbooks, which will allow for smooth transitions across grades. Our classes (days and times): We offer once a week classes (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) and twice a week classes (Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday). Classes run 4-6 pm and 5:30-7:30pm on weekdays and 9:30am to 12 pm on Saturdays. Traditional Greek school classes: We offer Greek school classes for students from Grade 1 to 7. Classes are once or twice a week. New mixed age classes: We have not forgotten our upper level students and students who left prematurely and who would like to come back. We are offering classes (Say it in Greek!) for beginners and advanced. These classes are mixed age level classes that incorporate repetition and where all homework is done in class. What is taken home is review only. Preschool and Kindergarten: Our Preschool and Kindergarten programs run Monday-Thursday and Saturdays and introduce our young students to the Greek language. Our Preschool from Monday to Thursday is taught be an ECE trained teacher. Other options: We also offer private and semi-private classes and look forward and are prepared to offer adult Greek language classes. If you are interested in any of these classes and would like to find out what would be best for you please contact us at greekschool@helleniccommunity.org 6
SUNDAY SCHOOL We would like to invite your children to join our exciting Sunday School program (pre-school to Grade 6). Under Father s guiding hand, our fabulous staff of volunteer teachers and assistants creates a wonderful learning environment for our children. The core of our curriculum is the Holy Bible and the Holy Traditions of our Church. The teachers utilize different pedagogical techniques to do; various activities and crafts for the younger ones and round table discussions for the older grades. It is a lively, interactive, non-competitive environment where our children can build on the Christian foundation that their parents are building at home. If you are interested in joining, contact our Community's Offices at (604) 266-7148. Or speak to Father Constantine or any of our teachers after church. Join us on Facebook: St George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral -- Sunday School ZEFYROS HELLENIC DANCE GROUP Zefyros Hellenic Dance Society, in cooperation with the Hellenic Community of Vancouver, is offering traditional Greek folk dance classes for children.in these classes, children will learn dances from the many diverse regions of Greece, including Thrace, Crete, Macedonia, Epirus, Islands, and others. Classes are held at the Hellenic Community Centre (4500 Arbutus) every Saturday morning from 10:00-10:45 (ages 6-7), and from 11:00-12:15 (ages 8-12). Please contact dance teacher Dimitrios Kontogiannis at zefyrosdance@gmail.com or see the Hellenic Community of Vancouver website for further information. CRETAN ASSOCIATION OF BC DANCE GROUPS The Cretan Association of BC is proud to have two dance groups, both groups practice every Wednesday at the Hellenic Community of Vancouver in the small hall. Agrimakia ages 3 to 12 years old, practice Wednesdays 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Minotavri ages 13 to 30 years old, practice Wednesdays 7:30pm to 8:30pm Interested in joining? Become a member of the Cretan Association; all memberships are valid for the calendar year. Family rate: $60.00 Single rate/18+ years old: $30.00 Register now at www.cretansbc.com REMINDERS MEMBERSHIP FEE We would like to give a friendly reminder to all of our community members to pay their annual membership fee. With the help of everyone is our community we are able to grow and continue to succeed as a community. To pay please see call the office at 604.266.7148. MYROPHORES The Sunday School of St. George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral is looking for 16 girls between grades 2 and 6 who would like to participate as Myrophores for Holy Friday (April 10 th ) and Holy Saturday (April 11 th ). Girls will need to wear their own white dresses and will need to be at church before 7pm on Holy Friday and before 11pm on Holy Saturday. We will meet at the pews where the Sunday School children normally sit. The girls can be picked up after everyone has returned from the procession. Please email Helen Nicolidakis Soulsbury directly if your child is interested or if you have any questions at st.georgesgosundayschoolhcv@gmail.com 7
SPRING 2015 THANK YOU TO OUR CLEANING VOLUNTEERS! We would like to send a BIG thank you to all of the people who came out on March 6th & 7th to help with our community clean up! Thanks to the time and efforts of these volunteers our community gained a face-lift with a spring-cleaning! TAKE A LOOK BACK ON OUR EVENTS! Cretan Apokries Dance February 21st GOYA & ENA Meet, Greet & Register Event February 5th Our youth coordinator skating with some of our Day Camp kids February 22nd GOYA youth playing flashlight tag! HOPE & JOY youth Day Camp February 22nd GOYA youth made 437 care packages for those less fortunate! 8
2015 SPRING 2015 ENA youth handing out care packages in Vancouver s Downtown Eastside Pan Orthodox Vespers March 1st Greek Independence Day March 22nd Fr.Constantinos cleaning the Patriarch Bartholomew Way street sign on the community s cleaning day March 7th Lambathes being sold for Easter! 2015-2016 Board of Directors Rev. Fr. Constantinos Economos, Parish Priest Effie Keriasotis, President Constantine Papageorgiou, 1st Vice President Georgia Tsoromocos, 2nd Vice President Maria Dedegikas, Secretary Manos Kanavaros, 2nd Secretary Effie Karapidakis, Treasurer Panagiota Tsatouhas, 2nd Treasurer Nick Liapis, Property Guardian George Askounis, Assist. Property Guardian Andreas Arvanitis Aris Demosten Daisy Frangolias Bill Michoulas Maria Papathanasiou Ftergiotis Eleni Fergadi Kerasiotis George Papageorgiou Nicolas Stratidakis HELLENIC COMMUNITY OF VANCOUVER 4500 Arbutus St. Vancouver, BC V6J 4A2 T. 604.266.7148 F. 604.266.7140 hellenic@telus.net Website: http://www.helleniccommunity.org