Dear Parishioners and Friends

Looking around us we can still see the ravages of the bitter winter. Much of the plush greenery of a few months ago lies scorched and lifeless. Amidst much of that browned landscape, however, can be detected a surge for life. Young, tender new growth is beginning to sprout forth bringing a touch of green to an otherwise somber brown landscape. There is no doubt that the season of rebirth is upon us.

And so we begin another Lenten journey. The days have passed, too quickly for some. The time has come again for us to journey with our Lord to Bethany, to witness the raising of his friend Lazarus from the dead. What an awesome sight awaits us – to see a man dead for four days brought back to life. That very experience will strengthen us, much as it did the Disciples, as we anguish with Christ those last few days, as we see Him betrayed, humiliated, spat upon, tormented, mercilessly beaten, ridiculed, denounced, toyed with, and finally crucified, as if He were some sort of horrible criminal. His loyal friends and followers will desert Him for fear of their own lives. A handful will watch in the week, the eighth day, the third day following the Crucifixion. On that day, we will rejoice with great joy and gladness, for Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem to the house of David the King, crucified in the holy city of Jerusalem, that knew Him not the Son of God, the Creator and Master, will rise from the dead. And because He did, our Salvation is now made possible.

Join us as we relive these truly awesome events in the history of the world. Participate in the Lenten period and the upcoming Holy Week services. Through fasting, prayer and repentance, prepare to have your sins and bodily afflictions healed through the Sacraments of Confession and of Holy Unction. Receive the Body and Blood of your Lord and Savior into your own. Triumphantly proclaim His Resurrection. Put aside your concerns and cares for a time. Forgive the differences that separate you from others. Let us prepare to celebrate this joyous Feast together. Let us come to know the joy and love of the Lord God. It’s a time for you and God. It’s a solemn, holy time of year. It’s a time like no other – that is why we call it Great Lent and Holy Week. Come and experience His love, a love only He can give, a love only you can accept.

ΚALI TESSARAKOSTI KAI KALI ANASTASI!
TO A GOOD LENT AND HIS GLORIOUS RESURRECTION!

Reverend John Cusulos

Parish News and Events

Vasilopita

The Vasilopita fundraiser for St. Basil’s academy was a wonderful success. Thank you to Vetta Kallas for making the bread. We raised $134.00 for the academy!

Church Remodel

If you have had the opportunity to be at the church, you will notice some significant changes in the basement! The new equipment is at the church and it is beautiful. As of right now we are on schedule to be done by Easter. As we had anticipated, we have run into some major snags and they have used up a good majority of the contingency fund for extra expenditures. Please continue to donate and sponsor equipment. The cost of the range and the sink has been donated to date. Our kitchen is going to be beautiful and we cannot wait to utilize it for Easter Dinner.

Easter

Easter is drawing near at an alarming speed! Pascha is on May 1, 2016. Preparation for Holy Week as well as our annual Easter dinner will soon be underway. Please think about how you can offer your services as we prepare for this event. Most importantly, please take steps to arrange your daily schedule to be able to attend services and worship together during this most sacred and spiritual time.

For those who would like to read more about Great Lent as well as our journey through Christ’s Passion and Pascha, here is a link to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website: http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/pascha.

Tickets for the dinner will be available for purchase beginning April 18th. They will be available at church or by calling Jenny Gaviotis at 389-3416. Dine-in seating is limited to 122 people. We will give parish members the first opportunity to purchase tickets; however, ticket sales will be opened to the public on April 25th. We are also offering 15 take-out tickets. ALL TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE! There will not be any tickets available at the door! To obtain an accurate count for food purchase, sales will STOP on April 27th and no more tickets will be sold after this date. All tickets must be paid for before April 27th. We will not be making any exception to this rule as it makes it very difficult for our cooks and preparation committee. Prices are $20.00 per adult; children from 6-12 years old are $10.00 and children 5 and under are free. When purchasing tickets please advise if you have children 5 & under attending as they must be counted in our seating total. PLEASE GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY!! We cannot stress enough that if you have not purchased your tickets by the deadline, you will not be able to attend the dinner.

There is a ton of work and several activities that will require everyone’s participation to make this Holy Week and Pascha celebration a success! Please give careful consideration as to how you can help! We need people to help with giving the church a really good cleaning upstairs. We will do this on Lazarus Saturday when we have completed the palm crosses. We need help with chanters, altar boys, readers, food prep (Friday, April 29th and Saturday, April 30th, times TBA), and set-up of the church hall for the dinner (Friday, April 29th, time TBA).

Future Fundraisers

We are participating in International Day again this year on Saturday, July 9th. Please start planning now as to how you can help. This is a huge undertaking and with everyone’s involvement we can, again, make this a very successful event.