Monthly Newsletter - 1999-2001 Archive
St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Church - Bulletin
November 1999 - Volume 5, Number 11
A Message From Your Pastor
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" -Colossians
3:17 (NRSV)
Each year in November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. It is a day put
aside for family reunions and for thanksgiving to God, our Creator and
Lord. It is a day of beautiful memories.
A young woman was cleaning her desk, when she came across a picture, which
she had not seen for a long time. The picture depicted her grandfather
giving the blessing at a Thanksgiving celebration many years ago. The woman
noticed how all her little cousins had folded their hands just like
Granddaddy. Her grandparents always had a wonderful family Thanksgiving at
their home. Never in her life had she tasted such delicious food!
She also remembered that there was more to Thanksgiving than abundant
wonderful food. There was spiritual food as well. Before they ate, her
grandfather always read from the Holy Bible and from the Fathers of the
Church. He would discuss the passage of scripture or the saying of the
Fathers with all the family at the table, and then he would fold his hands
to pray. His prayer was very plain, "God, thank you for the food."
Grandfather never said a long blessing, but somehow all those around the
table felt the sincerity of his thankfulness.
Although Thanksgiving is a special day for expressing thanks and gratitude
to God, there should be a time in our lives where we don't thank and praise
God. Man is made in God's image.Bishop Kallistos Ware in his book, The
Orthodox Way, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press: Crestwood, NY 1998, pp. 53-54,
writes: Man only, "...is able to bless and praise God for the world. Man is
best defined not as a 'logical' but as a 'eucharistic' animal. He does not
merely live in the world, think about it and use it, but he is capable of
seeing the world as God's gift, as a sacrament of God's presence and a
means of communion with him. So he is able to offer the world back to God
in thanksgiving: 'Thine own from thine own we offer to thee, in all and
for all' (From the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom)".
The first national Thanksgiving was written by the "Father of the
Revolution" at its turning point, thus transforming an ancient regional
custom into America's most beloved tradition-sanctified by the sufferings
of Washington's army outside Valley Forge. An Army surgeon near Valley
Forge on the first national Thanksgiving Day said the following words:
"Mankind is never truly thankful for the benefits of life until they have
experienced the want of them."
Man, by using his intelligence is able to realize the necessity of the
benefits of life, which are God's creation and His gifts to him. Man is
not only logical, but eucharistic as well. However, besides blessing and
praising God for the world, "man is also able to reshape and alter the
world, and so to endue it with fresh meaning."
See, Bishop Kallistos Ware, p. 54.)
God gave man unlimited horizons to shape and reshape His world. Every new
discovery and every advancement is not only the result of man's divine
gift to expand, but also the result of man's ability to appreciate God's
creation and to thank and praise Him. Man's functions are beautifully
described by St. Leontius of Cyprus: "Through heaven and earth and sea,
through wood and stone, through all creation visible and invisible, I offer
veneration to the Creator and Master and Maker of all things. For the
creation does not venerate the maker directly and itself, but it is through
me that the heavens declare the glory of God, through me the moon worships
God, through me the stars glorify him, through me the waters and showers or
rain, the dew and all creation, venerate God and give him glory." (See,
Bishop Kallistos Ware, p. 54).
At the threshold of the new millennium, we offer prayers and thanksgiving
to Almighty God and we put our hopes and our trust in Him. Let us look at
the pictures of our cousins and our families as the young woman did. Let us
look at them with their folded hands and heads bowed. Let us realize the
importance of passing down a tradition of thankfulness to God expressed in
simple ways, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
-Colossians 3:17 (NRSV)
May your Thanksgiving be a Day of happiness, beautiful memories and
abundant blessings.
Father Stathis
Stewardship
"Living is giving. We live life best as we give our strengths, gifts, and
competencies in the service of God's mission. We are called to serve, not
survive. Our giving makes a difference in our families, our work, our
community, our world, and our church." (From the book, Giving and
Stewardship in an Effective Church; A Guide for Every Member by Kennon Z.
Callahan).
The Stewardship Program of our Church is the most vital support of her
mission. It views the support of the Church as a matter of personal
commitment. Giving is the expression of gratitude of a generous heart that
is cognizant and appreciative of the gifts of God in our lives.
As we come to the end of another year, another century and another
millennium, we ask you kindly to renew your commitment. Our Church should
decisively enter decisively the new millennium. Your support is so
important and we thank you for your consideration. "The faithful Christian
Steward serves God unreservedly out of gratitude for God's bountiful
giving."
Father Stathis
We acknowledge the generosity and support of the following people: Maryam
Attalla for generously donating to St. Anthony's Youth Fund in memory of
her beloved husband Philip; Peter Katsenis for donating the icon of
St.Demetrios in memory of his beloved wife Ardath Mary; Anastasia
Souliotis for donating the icon of St. Prophet Elias, the Vayos and Mobayen
families for donating the icon of the Entrance of Christ Into Jerusalem in
memory of their deceased loved ones; Gus and Judie Christopoulos and
family for donating the icon of St. Paraskevi in memory of sister Paraskevi
and the faithful people of Duf, Gostivar; Theodore, Litsa, Peter, William
and Jane Stavropoulos for donating the icon of St. Theodore Tyron; The
Vagenas family: Alex, Tashia, George, Peter, Theoni and Dino for donating
the icon of the Baptism of Christ; the faithful people of St. Anthony's
for donating through our Ladies Philoptochos Society (Social Hour and
Fellowship) the icons of The Last Supper and Epitaphios Threnos; Eudoxia
Kitridou and Dr. Rodanthi Kitridou for donating the beautiful three veils,
which cover the paten (diskos) and the chalice during or after the Holy
Eucharist. We express also gratitude to the following ladies who prepared
the prosphoro: Helen Bonorris, Yiota Poulos and Arhontoula Economou. We
also give Special thanks and deep appreciation to a thoughtful and generous
family for their donation of $3,000 toward the replacement of the present
sound system of our Church.
There are so many people who support our Church with a generous heart.
There are our stewards, those anonymous generous donors who are known to
God, those who help and donate to our Greek Festival, those who donate to
the Memorial Fund, to our Youth Fund, to our special charity funds and to
our other programs. It is impossible to list all of their names. We thank
them all.
St. Anthony's Choir Director, Dr. Dimitrios Antsos recently resigned
because of relocation. To him and to his wife Judith Din, Philoptochos
Corresponding Secretary, we wish God's blessings and success in their new
endeavors. Dr. Antsos, with great patience, dedication, hard work and with
his talent, was able to reshape and reorganize our Church choir. He not
only increased the number of Choir members, but was also able to improve
the quality of our Choir. Judith faithfully served our Ladies Philoptochos
and our Church. We will miss them. May God be with them.
The new Choir Director is Terry McClain, a faithful member of our Church.
Elaine Ono our talented and dedicated organist resigned last August 1999
for personal reasons. Ken Marcus is our new very talented organist. Please
continue to support our Church Choir.
The 2000 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity January 17 - 24, 2000
Join the Southern California Ecumenical Council and the entire Christian
Community of Los Angeles County for a special Service on Sunday, January
23, 2000 at 4:00 p.m. at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, 2270
So. Harvard Boulevard, Los Angeles (just south of Santa Monica Freeway at
Western) the service will include celebration of the major steps toward
unity taken by the churches in our time. His Eminence Cardinal Roger Mahony
Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will preach the
sermon. We urge all our parishioners to attend.
Our Youth
Those among our youth, juniors and seniors in High School who contemplate
to participate in St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival in the year of
our Lord 2000, please contact Nick Zarkantzas. Nick is our psalti (cantor).
You can see him on Sundays following the Divine Liturgy.
The Orthodox Basketball League's Board members met on October 6, 1999 at
St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral to decide the future of the Basketball
League's Program for the year 2000. Father Stathis and Anthia Lucas, former
treasurer of the Basketball League participated in the meeting. Although
many of our young people and their coaches have shown sportsmanship,
discipline and responsibility, we need people who are also committed to the
Church. At St. Anthony's Church, we have two exceptional young persons, who
will be in charge of St. Anthony's Basketball teams and their games, Noula
Moutzouridis and Mary Albeck. We need coaches and all the support of the
parents. Basketball players should regularly attend Church Services and
should be GOYA members in good standing.
Project Mexico
Project Mexico needs our help! The rainy season will soon be upon those
poor people, which the project helps. It needs to be prepared. Innocent
Orphanage is asking all of us to help gather items, canned goods, and
kitchen/bathroom, miscellaneous items. For more information and details
please call our Church Office at 626/449-6943. Project Mexico is building
hope for people who are in great need and are very poor.
Los Angeles Mission
The Great Day of Thanksgiving Gratitude is Hospitality, especially when we
offer it to a "stranger'" to a poor person or a homeless family. "When you
are depending upon the kindness of strangers, you are pretty much stuck
with what their idea of hospitality is. Here's a new definition:
Hospitality is "little moves against destructiveness"...against the
destructive loneliness of human beings. Hospitality offers the
encouragement of community where there is none." (From the newsletter of
Los Angeles Mission, A Newsletter for Donors and Friends October 99). Your
donation or your involvement in helping the lonely and hungry, needy and
marginalized will make a great difference in the lives of many of our
suffering fellowmen. Call 213/629 1227 or write: Los Angeles Mission, P. O.
Box 55900, Los Angeles, CA 90055-0630.
Pasadena Classical Singers
The Pasadena Classical Singers formerly known as The Cambridge Singers,
will open their Fifteenth Anniversary Concert Season 1999 - 2000 with A
World of Song International Folk Music Festival on Saturday, October 30,
1999 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 31, 1999 at 3:00 p.m. at the
Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 East Colorado Boulevard (at Madison).
Weinachten: Christmas in the German Lands on Sunday, December 5, 1999, at
3:00 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Pasadena, 464 East Walnut
Street (at Los Robles). Johann Sebastian Bach Mass in B minor on Sunday,
April 2, 2000, at 3:00 p.m. At the Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 East
Colorado Boulevard (at Madison). Sergei Rachmaninoff All Night Vigil on
Saturday, June 10, 2000, at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, June 11, 2000, at
3:00 p.m. at St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Church, 778 S. Rosemead,
Boulevard, Pasadena. Alexander Ruggieri, a former Choir Director at St.
Anthony's Church, is the most talented Music Director of Pasadena Classical
Singers. To Alex and his Pasadena Classical Singers, we wish a rewarding
Concert Season.
Mount Athos Digital Library and Preservation Project
The manuscripts of Mount Athos hold the learning of the ages, the
enlightenment of the saints, the aspiration of the creative. For 1,000
years the monks of Mount Athos, a peninsula of northern Greece, have
guarded an important part of the world's cultural heritage. The libraries
of the twenty Orthodox monasteries of Mount Athos hold 22,000 manuscripts
dating from as early as the sixth century A.D. These manuscripts are
essential sources for scholars of such diverse fields as classics, biblical
studies, the history of Christianity, Byzantine history, art, music and
Christian spirituality. Few scholars, however, have opportunity to visit
Mount Athos. Traveling there can be arduous, and religious tradition
prohibits women from visiting this ancient enclave of monasticism. The aim
of The Mount Athos Digital Library and Preservation Project is to make
these manuscripts easily accessible to students and scholars and to
preserve the contents of the manuscripts for posterity.
The Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center (ABMC), a research center of the
Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, California, has initiated The
Mount Athos Digital Library and Preservation Project in collaboration with
the Patriarchal Institute for Patristic Studies, Thessaloniki, Greece. The
ABMC pioneered the use of digital technologies of manuscript research,
particularly the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Patriarchal Institute, founded in 1965 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate
in Constantinople, maintains an extensive film collection, which is the
only comprehensive record of the manuscripts of Mount Athos. These fragile,
deteriorating films cannot fulfill the dual requirements of long-term
preservation and availability to researchers. Combining the strengths of
these two international research institutions, the project will archive the
film collection for long-term preservation and create a comprehensive and
accessible digital image library of the manuscripts of Mount Athos. A
global community of researchers will be able to explore the medieval
monasteries of Mount Athos via their desktop computers and the World Wide
Web.
For the past millennium the monks of Mount Athos have shepherded a precious
cache of knowledge, art and spirituality. The Mount Athos Digital Library
and Preservation Project will ensure that the manuscripts of Mount Athos
are preserved and digitally accessible to interested parties around the
world, today and in the future.
The successful implementation of this monumental project requires the
cooperation of many individuals and organizations. Donation to ABMC for The
Mount Athos Project are tax deductible. Please consider a one-time
donation or an annual pledge to the project: The Ancient Biblical
Manuscript Center for Preservation and Research, 1325 N. College Ave.,
Claremont, CA 91711, phone: 909/621-6451, fax: 909/621-1481,
email: tradents@abmc.org.
The Greek Orthodox Memorial Foundation of Southern California is an
independent nonprofit Religious Corporation supporting The Greek Orthodox
Diocese of San Francisco. If you contemplate as a family to make
arrangements or to purchase a burial space for the future or for an
immediate situation, please call 562/260-9671, voice mail: 562/692-1212
ext. 596 or fax: 562/923-3696 or write to: Maria McDaniels CES 7314, Greek
Orthodox Memorial Foundation, Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary FD 970,
P.O. Box 110, Whittier, CA 90608-9977.
Important information:
St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church, Irvine, California, invites you to the
21st annual Poinsettia Ball on Saturday, Nov. 13, 1999. For information
call 949/733-2366.
Greek Education & Cultural Seminar, Saturday Nov. 13, 1999, 10:30am-2:00pm
at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Registration deadline Nov. 5. For
information and registration call 310/373-0808.
St. Anthony's Parish general assembly on Sun., Nov. 14, 1999 following the
Divine Liturgy.
Pan-Orthodox Youth Workers Conference, Nov. 19-21, 1999, Antiochian Village
Conference Center, Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America, the Orthodox Church in America, and the Antiochian
Orthodox Archdiocese. For more information, call 212/570-3560 or e-mail
youthoffice@goarch.org.
St. Anthony's Greek School Dinner Dance on Saturday, Nov. 20, 1999.
St. Anthony's Sunday School Turkey Raffle and Brunch following the Divine
Liturgy on Sunday, Nov. 21, 1999.
St. Anthony's Lady's Philoptochos Society invites you to join in their
honor roll of "Star Donors". Your generosity to this program will enable
them to continue giving to charities. Deadline for your charitable
donation is Nov. 15, 1999. For more information call Helen Koudanis at
323/721-8862. The Annual Christmas Benefit Luncheon and Fashion Show will
be held on Sat., Dec. 4, at the Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena.
For reservations call Charlene Vayos at 626/794-2750 or Chrissa Mobayen at
626/797 4174.
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