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T H E A N N U N C I A T I O N

OBSERVERM A Y 2 0 1 3 - V O L . 2 9 I S S U E 5

OU WOULD THINK that after nearly two

months of preparation for Great and Holy Pascha that we would be relieved that the day has finally arrived. With all the preparations, the fasting, the extra services, the emphasis on Confession, can’t we just enjoy the feast and set things on “cruise control” for a while? Not so fast. Let’s one more time reflect on the journey of Lent to make sure we are really prepared (indeed even able) to enjoy the Feast of Feasts on May 5th. Let’s look at St. John Chrysostom’s homily, not the one we are all familiar with from Pascha, but another one for the beginning of Great Lent:

If anyone is devout and loves God, let him commence this radiant fast with joy!

If anyone is a wise servant, let him, rejoicing, enter into the school of repentance.

If anyone has strayed from the first hour, let him today repent with zeal.

If anyone has sinned from the third hour, let him with gratitude embrace the fast.

...continued on next page

THE JOY OF PASCHA : BURDEN OR RELIEF?

Y

GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE ANNUNCIATION

3022 F StreetSacramento, CA 95816

916-443-2033www.annunciation.ca.goarch.org

Published Monthly Except for July

CLERGYPresiding Priest, Father James Retelas

frjames@annunciationsac.orgAssociate Priest, Fr. Timothy Robinson

frtimothy@annunciationsac.org

PARISH COUNCIL PRESIDENTGeorge Dariotis

georgedariotis@gmail.com

PARISH MINISTRYAnnunciation Senior League

Bessie Papailias, Presidentska2lee@surewest.net

BookstoreLou Demas, Manager

(916) 231-9949bookstore@annunciationsac.org

ChanterDusan Radosavljevic

dushan@annunciationsac.org

Greek EducationDimitra Dogias

mimidogias@yahoo.com

Music and WorshipBill Bobolis, Choir Director

boboliswilliam@comcast.net

Philoptochos SocietyElaine Wright, President

joelainewright@hotmail.com

Sunday SchoolPatrick Fuss, Principal

youtheducation@annunciationsac.org

STAFFParish Administrator

Effie Theodoretheodor@annunciationsac.org

Admin. Asst./Finances/CommunicationsMaria Mavroforakis

mmavroforakis@annunciationsac.org

OFF ICE HOURSMonday - Friday

9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Fr. James Retelas,Continued...

If anyone has fled from God from the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings about his prompt return.

For the Lord who is long-suffering and full of compassion and mercy, will accept the last even as the first.

He restores him who re-pents at the first hour, as He does him who turns back at the elev-enth.

In other words, it’s never too late to begin preparing to experience the joy of the Resurrection. In the same manner that we appreciate a hard earned paycheck through honest work, the joy of the Resur-rection increases the “harder we work” at the task of repentance. And what is this repentance that Chrysostom emphasizes? Nothing short of a radical new direction in life that focuses us on the love of Christ and His mercy toward us. To quote our Metropolitan: “Our religious practices are meant to lead us to better relationships with God, with ourselves, with our community and with the world around us. Our Lenten goal should be to light a candle for our families and then work to recon-cile any broken relationships in them. Our Lenten goal should be to participate in the Sacrament of Confession and then work to bring health and wholeness to our lives.”

I hope you will agree that repen-tance in the Orthodox Christian

Tradition is hardly a morose spiri-tual exercise or religious obliga-tion. In fact, we should always apply repentance as a verb. After all, we are all works in progress. We are all subject to the emotional vicissitudes of life, positive and negative. We are all created to be joyful but the burdens of sin bring us sorrow. We are all called to look forward (yes, joyfully!) to our own tomb but have we ac-cepted the new reality that the empty tomb of Jesus is ours for the asking. How you answer these questions will largely determine whether this Pascha will prove to be a burden or a relief. The choice is yours.

Wishing you a joyous Pascha (Καλή Ανάσταση), and with love in Christ,

Fr. James Retelas

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From the Parish Council Presi-dentOver the last several months you have witnessed much in terms of beautification of our church. This article is an attempt to summarize

what has been completed, and perhaps what is yet to come. First and foremost, the marble project in the church and narthex, under the guidance of Nektarios Klostrakis, is finished. The front entrance steps and all side exits are now covered with slate. All work was performed by Mr. Klostrakis under difficult and challenging conditions and we are very grateful. As you know, all materials were donated by the Angelo K. Tsakopoulos family. We are extremely grateful to them as well.

New carpeting was installed under the pews. Thank you to Dino Rotas of S&G Carpets for providing a very competitive price and reducing our costs. All of the old paneling which surrounded the nave has been removed and freshly painted, as well as new base-boards all around. The pews in the church and choir loft were all reconditioned and revarnished thanks to Peter Pandelopoulos. A thank you also goes to An-doni Mavroforakis for his assistance in painting cer-tain areas of the church.

The men’s restroom also received a new vanity, toilet and fresh paint. I have mentioned general contractor John Jackson before, and will again in order to thank him for all of his efforts around the church during these past few months. He has been invaluable and I cannot thank him enough.

I would like to extend a very special thanks to my brother and parish council member, Michael Dariotis,

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for coordinating all of the above mentioned beautifi-cation projects. Without Michael’s insight and the contribution of his many helpers and subs, none of this would have been possible.

Now you may ask: What is next? First, the Parish Council has a rendering from Dan Eriksson for new handrails at the steps to the solea and front church steps. We have already received a bid for $6,000, and that is only for the solea. We are in the process of ob-taining additional estimates. Other items being con-sidered are replacing the three outdated lights above the solea with more appropriate fixtures. If you wish to make a donation for any of these specific beautifi-cation items, please contact me. We thank all of the donors again for their generosity.

Painting the narthex is also in future plans and we are also considering replacing some of the landscaping in the church courtyard. Many thanks goes to Paul Voresis (Delta Landscaping) for his work in removing the ivy at the Administration building entrance, re-pairing sod and replanting along the north side of the church.

Other key items before the Parish Council include the Arista Preschool’s commencement of payments for their portion of utilities including telephone, alarm monitoring, gas and electricity which commenced on April 1. On July 1 they will begin paying rent. Arista currently has enrolled 21 children in the preschool with the probability of another 20 children in the near future.

A major pipe was replaced in the boiler room last month at a cost of $600. The walkway up to the back steps of the altar will be repaired with new concrete due to large tree roots coming through. We experi-mented with relocating the pangari, but it has now been returned to its original place on the right side of the church entrance. The Parish Council listened and took appropriate action.

In preparation for Holy Week, this year we have or-dered a shorter beeswax candle to be used on Holy Friday and Saturday, instead of the usual white paraf-

fin type. The beeswax candle burns purer and hope-fully will drip less.

The Parish Council has agreed to use a portion of the balance from the Fr. Dogias Memorial Fund towards the efforts to assist in the purchase of his headstone. Other groups have also decided to contribute to this cause. There will be a “meet and greet” with our fel-low Ethiopian Orthodox at our May Parish Council meeting. They have generously offered to provide an array of Ethiopian food at that meeting. We appreci-ate the opportunity for fellowship and discussion with their leadership.

Finally, our Capital Campaign under Sam Manolakas’ leadership has entered the “silent phase” which essen-tially means reaching out to a demographic of our community for potentially major gifts. However, all gifts should be considered “major gifts” and will be respected. At this writing, 5 of the 12 members on your Parish Council have pledged to the campaign with the goal of 100% commitment going forward. I would like to share a quote by Dena Kuchulis: “This campaign should be looked at as an investment in our church.” I could not agree more. Please look for up-coming newsletters about the building project and Capital Campaign. You may also contact George Koufasimis, the chairman of the project, for informa-tion and updates. This edition of the Observer also includes a complete Building Project article.

Lastly, I would like to invite you to please feel free to ask the church office for copies of any Parish Council meeting minutes. I will attempt to do a better job of communicating with all of you in the future. In-volvement in our church is crucial as we move for-ward, especially if the vision of a new campus is to be realized. Not so much for us, but for generations to come. May our Lord’s Resurrection inspire us and lead us to our own ultimate salvation.

Kali Anastasi,

George DariotisParish Council President

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Income675.00$ 2012 Festival Donation

1,500.00$ Anonymous1,000.00$ Anonymous

500.00$ ASL Diakonia4,000.00$ Car donation proceeds2,000.00$ Choir Diakonia3,000.00$ Drivas Bequest2,000.00$ DSG Diakonia1,000.00$ Fr. James Retelas Donation

10,000.00$ Fred Legatos Memorial Fund2,000.00$ GAPA (National)1,000.00$ Georgia Avdalas/memory of sister, Voula Gianulias5,000.00$ Greek School Diakonia

20,000.00$ Hellenic Golf Classic3,000.00$ Mary Jo Nissan bequest

10,000.00$ Nicholas Bouras Charitable Fund3,500.00$ Parish Council Discretionary1,500.00$ Pastor's Discretionary Fund2,000.00$ Peloponnesian Society7,310.00$ Pew Restoration Donation

500.00$ Zeus Cretagins Club81,485.00$

Expenses1,500.00$ Baseboard (materials & labor)6,099.10$ Carpet & Installation (incl rugs for doors in Narthex)1,140.00$ Demo & new door into sanctuary

130.00$ Electrical-$ Marble & Slate for Steps (Donated by Angelo K. Tsakopoulos)

46,000.00$ Marble installation/labor850.00$ McKinley Park Donation

4,495.06$ Misc. construction supplies & labor1,800.00$ Painting & wall repair1,290.00$ Painting: Dome, door casings, baseboards, PC office, men's bathroom, etc5,400.00$ Pew Restoration (based on 45 pews)6,000.00$ Slate installation/labor2,748.74$ Subfloor materials

77,452.90$

Church Beautification Project - Income and Expense ReportRev 4/23/13

ASL NewsWe hope that the Lenten season finds all of you well!

We would like to thank our kitchen crew, under the direction of Tyke and Dena Kuchulis, for preparing a wonderful shrimp salad at our April luncheon meet-ing. It was delicious and enjoyed by all! Thank you also to George and Mary Kondos for donating the wonderful apple turnovers in honor of the Feast Day of St. George. Our luncheon was topped off by a wonderful presentation from Georgia Larson on the Greek philosophical and cultural impact on our politics of today. Georgia cited many interesting facts and

also took us through a time line of notable Greek politi-cians in California. Thank you so much for providing a wonderful presentation and for educating us on our very own!

As previously mentioned, ASL is collecting non-perishable food products for donation to WEAVE (Women Escaping a Vio-lent Environment) safe houses (please see photo of Bessie Papailias delivering food to WEAVE). This is one way we can give back to our greater Sacramento community. We would like to encourage our members, if they wish, to bring one or

two non-perishable food items to our monthly gen-eral meetings. The food that is collected from now through June will be given to WEAVE for their safe houses. ASL will be do-nating to WEAVE the first six months and will pick another charity for the fall. We thank you all in ad-vance for your support of this needed effort!

We would also like you to know that we have a won-derful program for our May luncheon meeting. Our hosts (to be an-nounced later) are planning a walk through memory lane and big band sounds. We hope that you will be

able to attend this great event on Tuesday, May 7th!

As always, we extend an ongoing welcome to all seniors to attend our monthly luncheon meetings. Meetings are on the first Tuesday of each month and begin with a small social hour at 11:00 a.m., followed by a short meeting and lunch.

Future meetings scheduled for May 7 and June 4 – we will be off for the summer months and Festi-val months but back for October, November and December! (please remember to pick up your ASL brochure at our next meeting!)

See you on May 7th! Kali Anastasi!

Bessie Papailias ASL President

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The Choir and it’s music is a treasure of our ChurchIt has been said that worship in our Church is experi-enced by all of our senses. Our eyes take in the splendor of the holy icons, we “taste” the Fountain of Immortality” when we receive Holy Communion, the smell of incense causes us to reflect upon our prayers rising heavenward, but it is the “Sounds” of worship that is the greatest inspiration during the Liturgy. Our Church has a rich tradition of liturgical music. The origins date back to the early centuries of Church His-tory, when men such as St. Cosmas, St. John Damas-cus, St. Sophronios and St. Romanos composed vol-umes of liturgical works. Modern day liturgical mu-sicians have contributed greatly to traditional Byzan-tine Chant and have adapted many melodies to four part polyphonic melodies in both the Greek and Eng-lish Languages. The names of Sakellarides, Anasta-

siou, Roubanis, and more recently Desby, Zes, Bog-danos, and Cardiasmenos are familiar to most chant-ers and choir members.

While we all may have our particular preference in liturgical music, it matters little whether it is a choir of adult and children voices, congregational singing accompanied with a beautiful organ that fills in the four part voices, or the haunting melodies of Byzan-tine Chant inspired by years of study by men and women who have learned the masterpieces of Byzan-tine Style associated with church history.

Our songs of praise are indeed, pleasing, not only to our ears, but to God’s as well.

Freely adapted from the Orthodox Weekly Bulletin

Orthodoxy 101Questions for this month’s Ortho-doxy 101 are mainly taken from Orthodoxy A to Z for Students, by Gayle E. Woloschak and are mostly about what we as Orthodox should know about Holy Week: Palm Sunday through Pascha.

1. The Mystery of the Eucharist was instituted by Christ on what occasion?

a. On the way to Emmausb. At a celebration after His entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday c. At the Wedding at Canad. The Lord’s Supper took place on Holy Thursday at a Passover dinner

2. On Holy Tuesday we hear the wrenching Hymn of which hymnographer?

a. Kassianib. Theodore the Studitec. Joseph the Hymnographerd. Romanos

3. At which event did Christ wash the feet of His disciples?

a. On His Triumphant Entry into Jerusalemb. At the Last Supperc. After the walk to Emmausd. In the Upper room when he reveled Himself to the disci-ples after His Resurrection

4. Christ was crucified in what city?

a. Galileeb. Bethlehem

c. Nazarethd. Jerusalem

5. Who was Joseph of Arimathea?

a. One of Jesus step brothers; Joseph’s sonb. One of the disciples present at the crucifixionc. He provided a new tomb for Christ’s buriald. He carried Christ’s cross

6. BONUS QUESTION: Who were the sisters of Jesus friend Lazarus?

a. Mary and Salomeb. Mary and Marthac. Ioanna and Susannad. Elizabeth and Anna

Answers can be found on p. 24

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Booknotes from the BookstoreThe Bookstore has many new and old favorite items to help Orthodox families with their spiritual journey through Holy Week.

Holy Week BookBy Patmos Press

To accompany worship as you par-ticipate in Christ's Passion. They will be available for sale both in the bookstore and in the narthex.

St. John [Maximovich] and GooliaBy Tamara N. Zaharek

I am anxious to add this to the arti-cle because the proceeds of this beautifully illustrated and very informative book about the life of St John, in the Spirit of St John, are being donated by the author, Tamara N. Zaharek, and illustra-tor, Lydia N. Ionin, to feed poor children.

Orthodox Christian Parenting - Cultivating God's CreationBy Marie L. Eliades

For after Pascha, Orthodox Christian Parenting by Zoe Press is a must read. En-dorsed by Metropolitan Gerasimos, this book is especially designed for busy Ortho-dox Christian parents. It is the fruit of the labors of many pooled resources: Scrip-ture, holy fathers, monastics, clergy, clergy family, and Orthodox parents. In the end, our children are the fruit of God’s grace and our labors. If we spiritually tend to them in their youth, we will have nurtured their potential to grow into amazing, faithful, fruitful, even holy Orthodox Christians. Let us work diligently when they are young and the harvest will be plentiful.

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Also, we now have in the Book-store the Arch® Book series. The books popular Bible stories through fun-to-read rhymes and bright illustrations. This well-loved series captures the attention of children, telling scripturally sound stories that are enjoyable and easy to remember. Ages 5-9; Grades K-4. We have a great selection of Arch books for the Lenten period and for Pascha.

Kalo Pascha!

Marilyn DemasAnnunciation Bookstore

Annunciation Sewing Circle

Most of you know that the An-nunciation Sewing Circle is mostly a “virtual” sewing group of ladies [men are welcome too though] who knit, crochet, quilt, or make/create fleece blankets that are then donated to “Project Linus” a National philanthropic organization. The blankets are given to infants and children in crisis. By a “virtual” group I mean that most of us make our blankets on our own time, in our own homes, and then bring the finished item to the Annunciation Bookstore. For those who are new, we are located on the Alley just across from the Hellenic Center/Hall. That said, if you would like to participate but are rusty in skills, or would just like to join us for coffee to get an idea of what we are about, there are a few of us who get together on Tuesday mornings after 10:30 a.m. in the Bookstore to work on projects. Most of the blankets we make stay in Sacramento. If there is a national need such with Hur-ricanes Katrina and Sandy, our Sacramento Chapter of Project Linus sends what we have avail-able and then we ladies get super busy and work away so that we can keep up with local demand. Sadly, the need is ongoing and great. Project Linus is so very grateful to all of you who partici-pate. We have a group of really loving Angel’s, well, I think you are all Angels, who do this work

but we would love to have more of you join us. God Bless you all! I pray I don’t inadver-tently leave some one out but special Thanks to Sandra Giobres, Bess Kerhulis, Helen Rotas, Ioanna Schnell and So-phie Theodore for al-ways being there with your beautiful work!!

This reminds me I put out a call for “Beanie Babies”. They are put inside knitted baby hats also for Pro-ject Linus. And, we have two more Angels to thank. Bob and Tina Freeworth donated fifty Beanies and just this week donated an-other twenty-five. God Bless you two also. Thank you!

Prayer Shawl Ministry

There is a wonderful response to the Prayer Shawl Ministry. God Bless all of you who have do-nated money to defray the cost of yarn because you yourself can't knit or crochet. What a wonder-ful way to participate. You are a Blessing!!! And Thanks, Big Thanks too, to all the people who are making the Shawls. Each shawl is beautiful and as unique as the maker. Then again they are all the same in that each shawl is filled with love and prayers for

the people who will receive them. If you feel you would like to participate, it is not too late. This is an ongoing project and we can always use more hands, your hands, to Bless this project. For more information come to the Bookstore after Liturgy on Sunday.

If you don't mind me going on just a bit, to paraphrase Christ, there is no greater love than to give one’s life for a friend. Well, participating in this and other of the ministries of our Church is not giving one's life per se, but you are certainly giving your hearts. May God Bless you all! Thank you!

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PHOTO: Woman spinning wool, detail from the Na-tivity of the Theotokos, fresco. Protaton, Karyes, Mount Athos. (early 14th century)

Ελληνικό ΣχολείοΚαλό Πάσχα και Καλή Ανάσταση! Στις 24 Μαρτίου το Ελληνικό σχολείο γιόρτασε την 25η Μαρτίου µε την γιορτή στην οποία συµµετείχαν οι µαθητές µας. Ήταν µια πραγµατικά πολύ ωραία γιορτή γιατί τα παιδιά σας , οι µαθητές µας εργάστηκαν σκληρά και µε µεγάλο ενθουσιασµό συµµετείχαν στο πρόγραµµα. Μπράβο σε όλα τα παιδιά, για την δουλειά τους αλλά και σε σας τους γονείς που τα υποστηρίξατε. Επίσης κατά την διάρκεια του Απριλίου είχαµε συναντήσεις γονέων και δασκάλων όπου υπήρξαν συζητήσεις για την πρόοδο των µαθητών µας.

Από τον Φεβρουάριο µήνα µέχρι το τέλος του Απριλίου, οι δασκάλες του ελληνικού σχολειού συµµετείχαν σε εβδοµαδιαία επιµορφωτικά σεµινάρια που δόθηκαν από την Κυρία Ιωάννα Λεκκάκου µε την υποστήριξη του κοινοτικού συµβουλίου. Τα σεµινάρια είχαν σκοπό την επιµόρφωση των δασκάλων σε θέµατα όπως «Σχεδιασµός Διδακτικών στόχων» «Χρήση τεχνολογίας στην τάξη» και άλλα. Οι δασκάλες επίσης συµµετείχαν στην 8η Εκπαιδευτική Μερίδα Δασκάλων Ελληνικής Γλώσσας στην Εκκλησία της Αγίας Αικατερίνης. Στόχος µας είναι η κατάλληλη προετοιµασία και ανάπτυξη των δασκάλων του ελληνικού σχολείου .

Στις 23 Μαΐου η Θεατρική οµάδα Hippo, από την Ελλάδα, θα δώσει την θεατρική παράσταση «Νιάρα» στην αίθουσα εκδηλώσεων της εκκλησίας µας. Η παράσταση θα δοθεί στις 5:30µµ. Περισσότερες πληροφορίες για εισιτήρια και για το αναλυτικό πρόγραµµα θα δοθούν στις ερχόµενες εβδοµάδες.

Στις 30 Μαΐου θα έχουµε την εορτή ολοκλήρωσης της σχολικής χρονιάς για το ελληνικό σχολείο και τα πιστοποιητικά ολοκλήρωσης θα δοθούν στους µαθητές.

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Greek SchoolKalo Pascha and Kali Anastasi! On March 24 we celebrated Greek Independence Day March 25th with our students. The celebration was great, due to your children’s, our students’, hard work and great enthusi-asm. Congratulations to all the children for their work but also to you the parents for supporting them! In addition, in the month of April, we held parent teacher conferences during which the students’ pro-gress was discussed and feedback was given by both the parents and the teachers.

Since February the teachers have attended weekly educational seminars led by Mrs. Ioanna Lekkakos with the support of the parish council. The seminars focus on teachers growth in ar-eas as “development of educational goals”, “the usage of technol-ogy in the classroom” and more. Our teach-ers also participated in the 8th educational workshop for Greek Language teachers at St. Katherine’s church in Elk Grove. Our goal is our Greek

school teachers’ preparation and development.

On the 23rd of May, the theatre group HIPPO from Greece, will present the play “Niara” in the hall of the church. The play will start at 5:30pm. More informa-tion regarding tickets and the program for that eve-ning will be published in the weeks to come.

On May 30th, we will celebrate the completion of the school year for Greek school and the certificates of completion will be handed to the students.

Dimitra DogiasGreek School Director

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PAGE 15

Youth HighlightsA recap of some of the Lenten adventures taken by our GOYA and Sunday School. For more photos, visit our home page at www.annunciation.ca.goarch.org.

Sunday of the Holy Cross

Celebrating the Sunday of the Holy Cross, the Annun-ciation community warmly welcomed Greg Floor, the Director of Admissions & Alumni Relations of Holy Cross/Hellenic College in Brookline, Massachusetts, the only accredited Orthodox institution of higher learning in the United States. Mr. Floor was visiting Orthodox parishes in the region, preaching on both the apostolic as well as academic missions of our schools to our youth.

GOYA Lenten RetreatThe retreat was held this year at St. Sava’s Youth Re-treat Center in Jackson, CA right in the heart of Ama-dor County’s wine country. Our youth had the opportu-nity to interact with other youth from our sister church, St. Basil’s, in Stockton. On a side trip, the group vis-ited St. Sava’s, the oldest Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States and resting place of St. Sebastian Dabovich, and had a chance to admire its recently completed fresco work.

Pilgrimage to the relics of St. John

Accompanying a group of fellow pilgrims from St. Timothy’s in Fairfield, our Sunday School made a unique excursion to the holy sites of San Francisco. Following the footsteps of St. John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San Francisco, our youth were able to venerate his holy relics at his shrine on Geary and were blessed beneath his mandiya which is housed at the Old Cathedral on Fulton where St. John served his flock. Of course, our tour guide for this trip was none other than Hieromonk James of the Old Cathedral, whose inspir-ing words and heartfelt prayers transported everyone’s souls into eternity.

PAGE 16

Greetings from Sunday School

Greetings and Kali Sara-kosti from Sunday School!

The Orthodox faith is not one of passive observation. Rather, we actively partici-pate in our spiritual growth at each service and Divine Liturgy. The kids are learn-ing to take an active role in their Church. We have had student readers for epistle readings on Sunday, and we have had students offering the prayers to the Panagia and Pantokrator during the Great Compline and the Akathis Hymn services. The students and I have also been practicing the re-sponses for Divine Liturgy.

We will also take a Lenten pil-grimage to the relics of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco. On this trip we will share the bus with some folks from St. Timothy’s in

Fairfield. A fine opportunity to enjoy fellowship with our fellow Orthodox pilgrims as we sojourn to San Francisco.

It has been marvelous to see the kids grow this year.

Please encourage your son or daughter to continue ac-tive participation in their spiritual growth.

After Easter, the main Sun-day School session will close. We are planning to have a summer Sunday School session, so please keep coming to Church and keep bringing the kids. Have the kids in Church by 9:52 AM so they don’t miss a thing.

As always, call or e-mail me if you have questions or concerns.

Patrick FussSunday School Director

PAGE 17

An Appeal from Mercy General Hospital Guild

Mercy General Hospital Guild is in need of new volunteers.

No prior experience is necessary, and the Guild provides training. Work at the hospital is rewarding, and you'll meet and work with many wonderful people. Please take this opportunity to make a positive contribution to our community with your spare time.

For information and an application, please call Vivian Buletti at 731-7189 or 731-7131.

Attend Annunciation’s Learning Liturgies!

After positive feedback, Annun-ciation will continue offering "Learning Liturgies" to enhance our understanding of our beautiful faith and rituals. Last year, this special service was conducted in the church hall as a learning op-portunity for Sunday School chil-dren. We encourage children - and adults - to participate in these services that provide an up-close look and direct participation. The instruction will be divided into 5 services, all begin at 10AM in the Church Hall. Divine Liturgy will be held simultaneously in the Church.

The last Learning Liturgy for this ecclesiastical year will be held on:

Sunday, May 12th: Anaphora, Communion & Thanksgiving

Oratorical Festival Update: Congratula-tions Apostoli!!

For the first time in more than four years, Annunciation Sacra-mento will be represented at the San Francisco Metropolis Ora-torical Festival.

Our very own Apostolos Delis advanced to the District Compe-tition in Modesto on April 14th. He was selected as a finalist, and now he will present his inspiring speech on the symbolism of "Light in the Or-thodox Tradition" at the San Francis-co Metropolis event at Saint Nicholas Ranch. From there, finalists advance to the Archdiocesan Festival in Detroit. We wish him all the best!

We also want to congratulate all of the speakers who had the courage to participate in our local event this year on April 7th: Ryan Coleman, Sophia Delis, Kathryn Kane, Dora Klostrakis, Maria Klostrakis and Sofia Pantis. These 4th-6th graders shared beautiful words about our Faith, and we hope to hear from them again next year!

PAGE 18

PhiloptochosPhiloptochos Lenten Retreat was a great prelude to Holy Week. Pres. Jeannie’s in-depth presentation about the Theotokos answered questions that those in attendance may have had. Hopefully it gives us a better understanding of the Theotokos and a new found closeness to her, making the The-otokos more constant in our life and everyday prayers. Thank you to Dessi Chuchas for arranging the retreat for all. Dessi worked many weeks preparing the event making it possible for all to enjoy Thank you to the members that helped Dessi.

The Philoptochos Palm Sunday Luncheon was a nice way to be with our family and friends to re-member Christ’s coming to Jerusa-lem and prepare for our Great Holy Week. Our thanks to Rula Manikas for chairing this event and preparing the nice lunch. Thank you to those who helped Rula.

May is Philoptochos elections for a new board. If you would like to run for the Philoptochos board please contact me and I will let

our elections chair know and they will contact you. To be eligible to run for the Philoptochos board, you need to be a member in good standing and have at-tended at least 4 meet-ing in the past year. This is a two year commitment helping with our events, fund-raiser to raise money for our charities and help support our mis-sion. Some of our commitments are Blessings in a Back-pack, Kids’n’Cancer, Pennies and Prayers and local charities. We are called on to help in other areas during the year. It is a great opportunity to be on the Philoptochos Board working side by side with wonder-ful caring people who give their time and are dedicated to Philop-tochos’ causes. It is an honor and a privilege to be a member of this wonderful philanthropic group. Please consider helping these women doing Gods work.

May you and your families have a blessed, spiritual Holy Week and Kali Anastasi. God Bless you.

Your loving sister in Christ,

Elaine Wright Philoptochos President

PAGE 19

OCF Real Break ConstantinopleDear Annunciation Community,

We pray that this entry finds you all doing well during this Lenten season. For those of you who do not know us, we are Christina Ro-tas and Irini Hatzopoulos, two young adults of the parish who, by God's grace and your gifts, prayers, and support, recently traveled to Turkey this past March to participate in "Real Break: Con-stantinople," an alternative spring break program offered through Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF). It is with humble heart, great joy, and profound gratitude that we write you today, hoping to share with you a sampling of our amazing encounters and rich expe-riences while serving the global Orthodox Church in modern-day Istanbul.

The premise of this particular OCF Real Break trip was to pro-vide service work to the ancient See of Constantinople, the most important center of Orthodox

Christian leadership and faith since the rise of the Byzantine Empire. Under the instruction of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, our group agreed to offer services to accom-plish tasks necessary for this an-cient faith community still resid-ing in Istanbul. Additionally, this trip intended to demonstrate the unique historical, cultural, and re-ligious significance of Constan-tinople to the Orthodox world, de-spite the harsh realities facing the modern Orthodox Church in Is-tanbul today.

Joined by 16-college aged youth from various Orthodox jurisdic-tions, we embarked on our trip for Turkey under the guidance of Fr. Mark Leondis (priest at St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton, FL) and Natalie Kapeluck-Nixon (national youth director of the Ukrainian archdiocese of America). The day after our arri-val in Istanbul, we were blessed to have an audience with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. It was during our audience with the Pa-triarch that we discovered we would be working in a small town

called Kandilli, in the ancient Me-tropolis of Chalcedon, close to the location where the Fourth Ecu-menical Church Council that was held in 451 AD. There, we were asked to restore and refurbish an all-but-abandoned Greek Ortho-dox gravesite.

The following morning, when we reached Kandilli, we were greeted by Archimandrite Maximus, the presiding priest over several churches in the area. Fr. Maximus took us to "Νεκροταφειον Κοινοτητος Κανδιλλι" (Kandilli Public Cemetery)—the location at which we would be working for the next three days. Though a fairly small cemetery—housing what seemed to be around 20 plots—we quickly realized that we had our work cut out for us. Ob-vious natural overgrowth within the cemetery accompanied heart-breaking desecration: headstones and crosses were broken into pieces and thrown against the far walls of the site, in one case, pur-posefully removed and turned up-side down within a grave and the concrete frames of plots had crumbed or been completely de-stroyed.

We worked tirelessly for the next three days, weeding plots, piecing headstones back together, and cut-ting down and removing dead trees. Our last day at the site was bittersweet. Our final hours were dedicated to final sweepings, white washing the graves and re-painting the names on the head-stones, or adding a cross and ΑΩ

PAGE 20

or ICXC NIKA to unmarked plots. Upon finishing our work, Fr. Mark held a mnymosino service for all of those who had been laid to rest, including all of our newly adopted family members in his memorial prayer.

The last two days of our trip were spent visiting im-portant historical and religious sites throughout Istanbul, many of which are espe-cially important to Chris-tian history, generally, and Orthodox Church history, specifically. Such sites included the Church of Panagia Vlacherna, Chora, Halki Theological School, the Church of the Life-giving Spring, and Agia Sophia, among oth-ers.

By visiting Istanbul and witnessing first-hand the duress placed upon the city’s Christian communi-ties, we noticed a para-doxical contrast between the Ottoman/Turkish sup-pression of the Orthodox Church—politically, socially, and religiously—and the hopeful resil-ience of the Orthodox faith despite these obstacles. From the physical constraints placed on the Ecu-menical Patriarchate, to the dese-

crated gravesite in Chalcedon, to the Orthodox holy sites-turned-

museums throughout the city, it is undeniable that Christianity has been harshly suppressed in and around Istanbul since 1453 AD. The spirit of the Orthodox faith, however, remains a humble wit-

ness of Christ's hope, love, and Resurrection that we will soon

celebrate at Pascha.

Although words cannot de-scribe the beauty and depth of this incredible experience, we want to thank all of you for your love and prayers as we journeyed across the globe. Without the support of our Annunciation com-munity, these experiences would not have been possi-ble. Just as the Ecumenical Patriarchate serves as a con-stant beacon of Christ's hope

and love for us all, we hope to have shared a piece of that light with you all by recount-ing our experiences. Because we have been so blessed by

this opportunity, we pray that other college-aged young adults from Annunciation might be able to experience an OCF Real Break trip in the future.

Thank you and God bless!

Christina Rotas & Irini Hatzopoulos

For more information about Ortho-dox Christian Fellowship, visit www.ocf.net

For more information about the Ecumenical Patriarchate, visit www.patriarchate.org

We will be holding a presentation for GOYA-aged youth toward the end of May or in early June. Please keep an eye out for the scheduling of this event.

PAGE 21

BOTTOM LEFT: Cross section of the Hagia SophiaABOVE: The Patriarchal Church of St. George the Great MartyrBELOW: Theological School in Halki

A Message from Stewardship Co-Chair, Peter Fotopoulos

Great Lent provides the perfect opportunity for all of us to carefully and prayerfully consider our Steward-ship gifts. A friend recently asked me "what is a 'steward'?" I responded that a "steward is someone who has been entrusted with another's property and charged with the responsibility of managing it in the owner's best interest." More specifically, as stewards of the Annunciation parish, we have been entrusted with God's church, and we are responsible for not just sustaining the church, but growing it! Our giving of the "three T's" - time, talents, and treasures - enables the Annunciation parish to do Christ's work here on Earth through our many ministries, services, and out-reach programs.

Our current operating budget at Annunciation is just under $700,000. The ultimate goal and vision of the Stewardship committee is to one-day fund 100% of the operating budget through Stewardship gifts. This will enable our community to use funds that are gen-erated from special events (Greek Food Festival, Hel-lenic Golf Classic, etc.) to be directed toward the building of new facilities and new vital ministries to further Christ's work through the Annunciation parish. We can easily reach this modest goal if we make a concerted effort to challenge ourselves - and each

PAGE 22

Ste

ward

ship

OPERATING FUND

Income 1/1/13 to 04/15/13

2013 BudgetYTD

Pledges $150,532 $143,333

All Other Revenue $67,459 $38,853

Total Revenue $217,991 $182,186

Expenses

Total Staff Exp. $122,985 $139,945

Program Services $3,726 $5,190

Other Oper. Exp. $70,027 $58,170

ArchdioceseNational Ministries

$24,874 $33,165

Total Expense $221,612 $236,470

Balance as of

04/15/13-$3,621

2013 Pledges as of April 15, 20132013 Pledges as of April 15, 20132013 Pledges as of April 15, 2013

Stewardship Budget

$430,000

Pledged to Date $296,484

Total AmountReceived

$150,532

Total MembersPledged

337

other - to become good givers. However, "Good giv-ing" is not something that just happens overnight. It is the result of going through the spiritual exercise of examining one's blessing, talents, and treasures, and then lovingly returning to God's church, a portion of that which God has blessed one with. In the end, we must not ask ourselves "How much should I give?", but rather "Am I giving my best gift?"

The Stewardship committee has adopted the 3% of household income as a giving guide. If we take this seriously and challenge each other to get to 3%, we will easily realize our goal of funding the operating budget through stewardship gifts. It should be noted

that we have several Stewards here at Annunciation who exceed the 3% of household giving with their stewardship gifts!

During this Great Lent, I encourage you to challenge yourself and each other to be good givers and good stewards of God's church. I am very passionate about Stewardship, and I welcome any questions or discus-sions. Thank you for your continued support and for lovingly giving your time, talents, and treasures! Kali Anastasi!

Peter FotopoulosStewardship Co-chair

Pledge & Giving DetailThomas & Shirle AdamsNick & Shari AlexanderGeorge AnastasopoulosHelen AndersonGeoffrey & Antonia AntipaDemetrious & Maria ApostolidisMilton & Panorea ApostolidisMary ApostolosPaul & Elizabeth ArellanesGeorge AsimakopoulosNicholas & Nikki AvdisSpyridon & Georgia AvdisElias & Jane BardisHelen K. BeaudrySusan BitarBill & Evelyn BobolisStephanie BobolisDenny BoomAlexander & Eleni BourdaniotisMagdalen K. BourdaniotisPaul & Kostandina BourdaniotisMarie BravouRhea & Daniel BrunnerAnna BruscoAndrew & Bethany BurrowsKatherine ButtacavoliAndonia CakourosJenny CalabreseLarry & Anna CarrPeter & Fotine CasherosJohn & Georgia CazanisDean ChaliosTim & Antonia ChapralisTimmy & Penny ChatzisJack & Bessie ChessonTony & Kathi ChrisopoulosJohn & Annette ChristopulosGeorge & Melinda ChuchasJames & Despina ChuchasJames & Toula Clubb

Philip & Emily ColemanDennis & Jeanlaurie CorelisCarol CrispVasiliki CroninTimothy & Effie CrushKathryne CurtinMary J. CurtisGeorge & Christine DariotisGeorgia DariotisJohn & Nitsa DariotisMichael DariotisNick & Irene DarrasFany DarzinsHenry & Christina De Vere WhiteIrene DeKellisEfthymios & Grammatoula DelisJohn & Despina DemasJohn & Marianna DemasKyriakos John DemasLouis & Marilyn DemasMatthew John DemasMatt & Alexandra DeraniaLou & Maria DevilleTom DicktakesJack & Bessie DietzAngelo & Adel DimitropoulosElizabeth DokimosErnest & Kathy DokimosKatherine DoleElaine DonovanDemosthenis & Evangelia DouveasSteven & Marina DowningWilliam & Jessaca DowningDemos & Bessie Dulger SheikinJames & Patricia DuvarasGeorgia EconomeKiki EconomeDan & Maria ErikssonRobert & Leah EssaJohn & Sophia EvrigenisChristos FotopoulosJohn & Theofani FotopoulosPanagiotis FotopoulosPeter & Koula FotopoulosPhilip & Soula FotopoulosDemetre & Christine Fotos

Eugene & Agnes FotosRuseta FotosChristina & Robert FreeworthPatrick & Susan FussYiannis & Eleni GalitsopoulosJohn & Maria GassoumisAndrew & Teresa GatesConstantine & Maude GenigeorgisJoann GeorgallisPericles(Perry) GeorgallisChristina GeorgeDianna GeorgeJohn & Debbie GeorgeChris & Angie GeorgouliasHelen GianakakisAngela GianopulosAngela GianuliasDino GiobresSandra GiobresGeorge GiokasSteve GiranisDonald & Elaine GlumLula GoodwinLener & Carmie Lee GousetisPaul GrellasLouis & Georgette GrivettiSuanna GurovichElsie GustGeorge & Eleni HagiosLarry HaralambakisThomas & Phyllis HarperDannan & Lisa HarrElias & Catherine HatzakosDomna & James HebenstreitConnie HendersonMaria & Christopher HigdonAnastasios & Stefanie HionisMatthew & Lisa HolmJulian B. & Diane HoltLewis & Haroula JacksonDino & Margarita JakovasAndrew JohasEppie JohnsonKiki JouganatosChris JovalisJames & Robin Kafouros

John & Stella KakavasPeriklis KalfountzosDennis & Robin KamilosChristopher & Kristen kaneGeorge KaragianesGus & Tina KarresGeorge & Mary Ellen KassotakisGeorge KastanisTerry & Penny KastanisJames KatsilometesNiko & Emorfia KatsimbrasAndreas & Evelyn KazanisIoannis & Cindy KazanisTheodore & Andromachi KennedyAnthony & Gail KentrotiEffie KentrotiBess A. KerhoulasConnie KeriotisVictoria KidmanDenise KincaidPeter & Jennie KlearyPete & Maria KokkinisGus KokotisPolidefkis & Calliope KolitsosGeorge & Mary KondosLucas & Stella KontesMary KontesNick & Bernadette KontosGeorge KoufasimisFran KoulosGeorge & Elizabeth KoumisGeorge & Rula KouretasJohn & Colleen KreatsoulasConstantino & Dena KuchulisLoula KufasimesNicholas & Michele KufasimesGeorge KutuvinisJohn & Mary KyriakidesGreg & Vassie KyritsisStephen & Anna LaBrittHenry & Maria LafayetteGus & Frances LambroseEllie LaneDean & Diane LangleyRonald & Georgia LangleyMaria Lappas

PAGE 23

Georgia LarsonAndrea LendarisGary & Irina LeonardTheodore LeonisMaria LiondakisElena LivanisJesus & Helen LoaizaLance & Kathy LoperHelen LorisMarie LorisAlice Loris-LyonsChris & Christine LovettRichard & Mary LydonFrank & Nicolette MadridGeraldine MagersChris & Maro MaguireThomas & Yiota MakrisJim & Julie MamalisAthanasia ManikasExaveria (Rula) ManikasKatherine ManolakasSam & Kerry ManolakasTimothy & Annette ManolisAthanasios & Stella ManolopoulosGeorge & Marina MantisTino ManusAntigoni MarcosKatherine MarefosSteve & Katherine MargarisNellie MargariteSylvia MaritsasNia MarketosHelen MarkosDennis & Nancy MarksDesiree Debbie MarksEllen & Jonathon MartinJon MartinoVarghese & Elisabeth MathewAntonios & Maria MavroforakisVaso MayerRoger Mc ElligottJohn & Vicki MeersSam & Olympia MercurisHelen & Lawrence MichelPamela & Edward MiddletonJack & Marque MolodanofNorman & Ellen (Moustris) NewmanGeorge & Gaye NicholauHoward & Stella NorrisFrank NunesDaniel & Kathryn O'ConnellFred & Vera PagelPeter & Gina PandelopoulosPeter & Marie PantagesEffie PanteliasMaria PantisYianni & Kelly PantisJohn & Margaret PapadakisJohn PapagiannopoulosBessie PapailiasMartha PapailiasLouie & Voula PappasMary A. PappasParis & Helen ParaskevasJerry & Catherine PavlatosConstantine & Brigid Perakis

Denise PerinatiPaul & Shirley PetersDiane PetersenGus & Lillian PetrakosStella & Michael PetrucciFotis & Tammy PetsalisCosta PiperakisMarina & Alin PodoreanuDorotheia PoolerBogdan & Valentina PopescuBessie PothosSophia PotirisHelen PoulosLucky & Dina PoulosKaren Poulos-FirthCharles PriceMarshall & Carole PryorHelen PsihopaidasDusan RadosavljevicJulie & Greg RausserFather James & Barbara RetelasFather Timothy & Pres. Marsha RobinsonAntonia RogersDemetri & Malamo RomasJohn & Penny RomasHelen RotasNicholas & Carol RotasGeorge & Mary RoussasJoan SaetesLeo & Katherine SampanisMilton & Rheanon SarlisSperos & Panayiota SarlisDaniela & Andrew SchmidtFrances SellasThomas SellasRalph & Vassie SettMary & Maurice SilvaAlex & Lia SioukasJohn & Tina SobolNicole & John SpomerDemetrios SpyridakisStylianos & Klea SpyridakisVasilios SpyridakisDessie & Sam StamasJan StathisMerle StathisBess StathosMary Leona StathosTony & Mary StathosMaria StefanouLittle Joe StevensArt & Terre TerzakisEffie TheodorOurania TheodorSophie TheodoreGregory & Mary TheophilopoulosBrent ThiesePearl ThomasSteven TingusLoris & Paula TitusJerry & Marian TrappAngelo & Sofia TsakopoulosDrosoula TsakopoulosSofia TsakopoulosJasmine & Jude TurczynskiAnna TzikasGeorge & Margo Tzikas

Antiope TzourasGeorge & Traya VallasJames & Faye VallasMichael VasileRena VasileMary VasosNick & Christina VathisVasilis & Judy VerriosLoukia VlahosMichael VlamisPavlo VoresisStrati VourakisLillian VrakasDouglas & Donna WagnerRichard & Valentina WattsMaria Kostidou WorkmanJerry & Elaine WrightTheodora YazigiAndreas & Becky YerocostasAnestis & Areti YiaslasAthanasios YiaslasHaig & Irene ZeronianSophia Zogopoulos

PAGE 24

Note: This list only reflects stewardship pledges made be-tween January 1st thru April 16th, 2013.

April Milestones

FuneralsApr. 9 - Katherine Papadogianis

Apr. 24 - Nick EliopoulosApr. 29 - Evelyn Jouganatos

MemorialsApr. 7 - Timothy Stathos (1 year)Apr. 7 - Matina Stathos (15 years)Apr. 7 - John Tzouras (40 days)

Apr. 14 - Tony Manos (6 months)Apr. 21 - Manuel D. Fotos (3 years)

Apr. 21 - Aphrodite Exadactelou (3 years)

Answers to Orthodoxy 101: 1, d; 2, a; 3, b; 4, d; 5, c; 6, b

For the Month of May 2013

Unless otherwise noted, all services begin with Mat-ins at 8:30 am, followed by the Divine Liturgy.

Bright Monday, May 6thSt. George the Great Martyr

Bright Tuesday, May 7th10:30 am - Lesser Blessing of the Waters (ASL Luncheon)

Bright Friday, May 10thThe Theotokos of the Life-Giving Spring

Tuesday, May 21stSts. Constantine & Helen, Equal to the Apostles

PAGE 25

Holy Week

Lazarus Saturday, April 27th8:30 am - Orthros & Divine Liturgy6 pm - Great Vespers for Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday, April 28th8:30 am - Orthros & Divine Liturgy7 pm - Bridegroom Service

Holy Monday, April 29th7 pm - Bridegroom Service

Holy Tuesday, April 30th10 am - Presanctified Liturgy7 pm - Bridegroom Service

Holy Wednesday, May 1st4 pm - Anointing Service7 pm - Bridegroom Service

Holy Thursday, May 2nd10 am - Divine Liturgy of St. Basil7 pm - Reading of Twelve Passion Gospels

Holy Friday, May 3rd10 am - Royal Hours3 pm - Descent from the Cross7 pm - Lamentations Service with Procession

Holy Saturday, May 4th10 am - Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil11 pm - Resurrection Vigil11:45 pm - Anastasis! Paschal Divine Liturgy

PASCHA, May 5th10 am - Agape Vespers at Annunciation12 pm - Agape Vespers at Hellenic Park in Lincoln

Litu

rgical Sch

ed

ule

Altar Guild

The following members will be deco-rating the icons for the month of April.

The purpose of this guild is to deco-rate the icons used during the Sunday liturgies and special Holy Days.

If you would like to donate money to-ward flowers in honor or in memory of a loved one, please contact our Church Office at 916-443-2033.

May 3 Dena Kuchulis May 10 Georgia Langley

May 17 Julie Mamalis May 24 Kate Margaris

May 31 Irina Rebegeanu

PAGE 26

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4775 Moore Rd. Lincoln CA 95668 Hwy 80 towards Reno, exit Hwy 65 North towards Lincoln

Left on Twelve Bridges, Left on Industrial Blvd. Right on Athens rd., Right on Fiddyment

Left on Moore, Left on Ferrera

All proceeds to benefit improvements at the Hellenic Park

PASCHA 2013 EASTER PICNIC

@ THE LINCOLN PROPERTY

Sunday, May 5 7:00 A.M.

Agape Vespers will be celebrated under the Old Oak Tree at 12:00noon

SPONSORED BY THE HELLENIC ORTHODOX EDUCATIONAL & CULTURAL CENTER

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Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation

3022 F Street

Sacramento, CA 95816

TIME DATED MATERIAL

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 700Sacramento, CA

Place label here