Newsletter-September/October2015

ECCLESIASTICAL NEW YEAR INDICTION

The first day of September, for the Orthodox Church, is the first day of the ecclesiastical year. It is called the beginning of INDICTION. The word INDICTION is a Latin word and means to impose. It was first used in connection of taxes. The Romans began their first year on September 1. It has also been accepted since the Old Testament time that the month September was the time to gather fruits of the summer months and prepare for the winter. There were prayers offered to God. The hymns of our Church and the prayers from our liturgical books emphasized the value of time. Time is a gift given to us by God to be utilized for our perfection.

The month of September we begin to prepare for our community programs such as Sunday school and Bible Study, and other Church programs which include preparing and baking for the upcoming Bake Sale at Thanksgiving. We as Orthodox Christians should reflect on God’s gift to us of “time” and see how we can best use this precious gift. We must ask how much of this precious “time” are we willing to give back to God.

September is the time for the beginning for our Church. Let us all make it a time to recommit ourselves and our time to God through the many Holy, Divine services, especially Divine Liturgy; the many ways that we can support our Parish and programs that our church has to offer us.

Labor Day is an occasion to reflect upon the value of the work of our parish. Labor Day calls upon us to systematically organize our community activities, to make a new beginning by setting our lives in Christian order and to make a greater effort to uphold and live our Orthodox Faith.

Your humble servant in Christ,
Fr. John Cusulos

Parish News

International Day

Thank you to all those who were involved with International Day! It was a huge success! The net income from the event was $7009.66. Half of this income was designated to the kitchen remodel line item and the other half was put into the general fund. Again, thank you to all who participated!

Kitchen Remodel

Plans for the kitchen are in the works and fundraising has begun. Our goal is $100,000 in the bank before construction begins. This amount will cover the basic cost of the construction plus a 15% cushion for incidentals. As we all know, our church is old and it seems with every project come unexpected expenses. As of the last newsletter, we had $37,672.13 in the bank.

Since the last newsletter, we have received some incredible donations. Dave and Christine Faigl, as well as the family of Harry Pappas, have donated to the project. We have received $10,000 from the Trust of Milan and Katherine Pryich donated by Julia Lehman and George Lemich. Our current total in the bank is $53,543.96.

We have a very generous pledge from Gracie and Dave Fermelia of $30,000 that will be arriving soon. When the pledge is added to the current amount banked, we are only $16,456.04 away from our goal of $100,000! Please help us complete this goal by donating before December 1! No amount is too small! Thank you to all those who have so generously gotten us three quarters of the way to our goal!

Donating to the Church through shopping

Calling all those who shop at Smith’s! You can now donate to the church through Smith’s Community Awards program. The only effort on your part will be connecting your Smith’s rewards card to the church. Enclosed with this mailing are detailed directions on how to complete this process. Please take a moment to do so. It is a very effortless way to donate to the church.

Thanksgiving Bake Sale

It is crazy how fast the summer has flown and even crazier to realize that the time to begin baking for the Thanksgiving Bake Sale is around the corner. Our bakers will be organizing and begin baking in October. Please contact Christine Faigl (phone number please) and she can give you information on helping with this event.

Please Help!

Vaslie Leventis provided 13 black aprons for the crew at International Day. At the end of the day, those aprons were not returned to her. We have checked at the church and they are not there. If anyone knows where these items are, please contact Jenny Gaviotis or Vaslie Leventis. She needs to return them to her linen company or they have to be purchased. Thank you!

September 2015
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Orthros 9:00 am
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Nativity of Theotokos
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

Sunday, September 13, 2015
Orthros 9:00 am
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

Monday, September 14, 2015
Elevation of the Most Precious Cross
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

Sunday, September 20, 2015
Orthros 9:00 am
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am
Monthly Parish Council Meeting
(quorum permitting)

Sunday, September 27, 2015
Orthros 9:00 am
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

October 2015
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Orthros 9:00 am
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

Sunday, October 11, 2015
Orthros 9:00 am
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

Sunday, October 18, 2015
Orthros 9:00 am
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am
Monthly Parish Council Meeting
(quorum permitting)

Sunday, October 25, 2015
Orthros 9:00 am
Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

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