2015.02-03_BoxandSpoon

Monthly Newsletter for

Stewards of

Holy Anargyroi

Sts. Kosmas & Damianos

Greek Orthodox Church Box & SpoonBox & Spoon

2015 Standing

Committees PARISH COUNCIL

Aaron Biedermann-President

Halina Woroncow-Vice Pres.

Tim Kelly

Angie Rustad

Don Jenkins

Erline Holman Robert Lytle

Jacob Petersen Treasurer

Ben Johnson

STEWARDSHIP /

OUTREACH

John Maragos Chair Halina Woroncow

Ari Kolas

Andy Franquiera

ICONOGRAPHY

Fr. Mark Muoz

BUILDING

Tim Kelly- Chair

Ari Kolas

BUDGET

Jacob Petersen

Fr. Mark Muoz

AUDIT

Jacob Peterson

Amy Franquiera John Maragos

PHILOXENIA HOUSE

Brad Holman Chair

ST, PHILOTHEI

Trevor Hamlen Chaiir

GREEK FESTIVAL

Chair

John Mangouras-coordinator

Denise Mangouras-coordinator

I S SUE

FEB -MAR 20 15

47

Why do I need to confess to a PRIEST?! Great Lent is now upon us. It is a time for

what Fr. Alexander Schmemann (of blessed

memory) called bright sadness. It is a

time, above all, for reflection and

movement back to God. Sin, in literal

translation, means missing the mark. Not

being where we should be. Where we

should be, but are not, is in communion

with God. So, for practical purposes, sin is

separation from God. And, by definition,

separation from God is deathbecause life

can only exist where God is present. Great

Lent is the time when we try to reverse the

effects of sin in our lives. We are, since sin

came into the world with the very first

person created by God, consumers, filling

ourselves with everything. Food,

possessions, material wealth, sexual

adventures, various and sundry substances

(not just drugs, but alcohol, etc.) all become

simply ways to satisfy our urges. During

Great Lent, we fast in order to restore the

proper understanding and balance between

our desires and the basic necessities that

God provides for our nurture. Food is

denied not because it is bad, but because we

only need a little. Food is restored to its

proper place. Prayer, both personal and

corporate, is also important during the

Lenten season. Hunger that grows with our

fast should be transformed by prayer into a

hunger not for food, but for God Himself,

who is the Bread of Life and the Fountain of

Holiness. Fasting without prayer is like the

man who had the unclean spirit and cleaned

it out, but left his heart empty, so seven

spirits even MORE unclean than the first

possessed him. But the most personal and

difficult aspect of our effort is the journey to

the Sacrament of Confession. Confession of

our sins is basic and necessary. But

Confession in Orthodox Tradition has

always been face-to-face a hard journey!

Many people outside our faith wonder why

we simply do not confess our sins in private

to God. The answer is very simple God

already knows about our sins. Confession

is a gift from God that allows us to not only

confess our sins, but to receive the assurance

of Gods forgiveness and the spiritual

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you... ~ Matthew 6:14~

guidance that we need to help us overcome these sins. Confession is a three-step process. First, we must recognize

our sins. As we get holier, we see better and better how truly awful our life is, how truly estranged we are from God.

Second, we must truly be sorry for the sins, and one of the true tests of our sorrow is the ability to confess those sins to

another human being. We can be so prideful that we refuse to confess our sins because we are worried about what

someone else might think about us. Finally, once our pride is defeated and the sin confessed, we must try to repent,

overcome the sin and live a truly sinless life. Of course, the effort is in the struggle, since we cannot actually avoid

acts of sin.

But why should we confess to the priest?

Sin is, as we have said, separation.

First of all, sin separates us from God. Sin keeps us from being who God intends us to be. The communion with

God that was given on the first day of creation is fractured by sin, and eternal life can only be granted when that

fracture is healed. Confession to the priest overcomes and heals this because the priest is the sacramental presence of

Christ in the Church. When someone confesses to the priest, he is confessing to God Himself, thereby healing the

fracture which has occurred when someone sins. Our proper and intended relationship with God is restored when we

confess to the priest. Sin separates us from the Church. When we raise the consecrated bread of the paten just

before Communion, the priest says Holy things for the holy. No one is sinless when they receive the Holy Gifts,

but when we progress beyond the daily sins or accumulate so many of them that our soul is burdened, we must

confess them to restore our relationship with the Church. Our communion with the Church is fractured by sin, and

healing can only take place when we bring our sin to the Head of the Church who is Christ. The priest is the

sacramental presence of Christ in the Church, and to restore unity with the Church, we confess to him. Sin separates

us from each other. Nowhere is the lack of communion between us and God that happens because of sin shown

better than in how estranged we are from each other. Sin destroys my relationship with the other, and Christ Himself

says that we can only know and love God when we know and love each other. So many of our sins are selfish,

denying not ourselves, but the other. We must confess our sins and repent of them to restore our relationship with the

other. In the early Church that was very simply done you stood up in the midst of the church community and

confessed your sin, thereby healing that relationship with others. When problems with that system arose, the priest

began to stand in the place of the community. So we also confess our sins to the priest because he is a man, created

and fallible just like everyone else standing in the place of everyone else. When these three healings take place

between me and God, between me and the Church, between me and everyone else then true healing begins, with

the long struggle to overcome our sins and..be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. -by Fr. John Dresko

Are you a sinner? Do not become discouraged, and come to Church to put forward repentance. Have you sinned?

Then tell God, I have sinned. What manner of toil is this, what prescribed course of life, what affliction? What

manner of difficulty is it to make one statement, I have sinned? Perhaps if you do not call yourself a sinner, you

do not have the devil as an accuser? Anticipate this and snatch the honor away from him, because it is his purpose

to accuse. Therefore, why do you not prevent him, and why do you not tell your sin and wipe it out, since you know

that you have such an accuser who cannot remain silent? Have you sinned? Come to Church. Tell God, I have

sinned. I do not demand anything else of you than this. Holy Scripture states, Be the first one to tell of your

transgressions, so you may be justified. Admit the sin to annul it. This requires neither labor nor a circuit of

words, nor monetary expenditure, nor anything else whatsoever such as these. Say one word, think carefully about

the sin and say, I have sinned.' -St. John Chrysostom

Lord, save Your people and bless Your inheritance, granting victory to our rulers, and protecting Your commonwealth by Your Cross March 15

Calendar for March 2015 Saturday Feb. 21st 2nd Saturday of Souls 8:30am

Orthros/Divine Liturgy

Sunday Feb. 22nd Cheesefare Sunday Luncheon following Divine Liturgy

Forgivness Vespers (Beginning of Great Lent) 6pm

Monday Feb. 23rd CLEAN MONDAY- Great Compline Service 6pm

Tuesday Feb. 24th Great Compline 6pm

Wednesday Feb. 25th Presanctified Liturgy & Lenten Potluck 6pm

Thursday Feb. 26th Great Compline 6pm

Friday Feb. 27th Akathist Hymn 6pm

Saturday Feb. 28th 3rd Saturday of Souls 8:30am

Orthros/Divine Liturgy/Memorial Service (please bring Kolyva)

Sunday March 1st 1st Sunday of Lent: Sunday of Orthodoxy 8:30am

St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival

Monday March 2nd Great Compline 6pm

Orthodoxy 101 Class after Compline Service 7pm

Wednesday March 4th Presanctified Liturgy & Lenten Potluck 6pm

Philoxenia Meeting after Presanctified Liturgy

Friday March 6th Akathist Hymn 6pm

Saturday March 7th GOYA Faith Night 7pm

Sunday March 8th 2nd Sunday of Lent: St. Gregory Palamas

Youth Wide Ice-Skating Outing 1-3pm

****Daylight Savings begins****

Monday March 9th Great Compline 6pm

Mental Illness & Spiritual Healing Class after Compline Service



Sunday March 15th 3rd Sunday of Lent: Veneration of the Holy Cross

Monday March 16th Great Compline 6pm


Parish Council Meeting after Presanctified


GOYA Overnight Lenten Lock-in

Sunday March 22nd 4th Sunday of Lent: St. John of the Ladder

Sunday March 22nd AHEPA sponsored Annunciation luncheon after liturgy

Monday March 23rd Great Compline 6pm

Wednesday March 25th Annunciation of the Holy Theotokos 8:30am

Orthros/Divine Liturgy (fish & wine allowed)

Thursday March 26th Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete 6pm

Friday March 27th Final Akathist Hymn 6pm

Sunday March 29th 5th Sunday of Lent: St. Mary of Egypt

Wednesday April 1st Presanctified Liturgy & Lenten Potluck 6pm

Friday April 3rd Presanctified Liturgy **9am**

Saturday April 4th Saturday of Lazarus 8:30am

Orthros/Divine Liturgy


Parish Council The start of the New Year brings new and exciting times for our Parish. I would like to thank Andru Peters and Maria

Thomas for their time served on the Parish Council through last year. Maria continues to serve our Parish in many

capacities and Andru leaves very large shoes to fill with his zest and tenacity as Assembly and Parish Council

Secretary. In addition, Andru has provided a solid adherence to our Uniform Parish Regulations as well as cleaned up

countless documents for our parish.

We welcome some new members to our team, Angie Rustad and Ben Johnson. Angie provides a wealth of experience

from her previous service to our parish, many other community boards, and her professional experience in banking.

Ben brings new blood to the council, previous council experience, and a keen business sense. Thank you both for our

commitment to serve our Parish community.

The most significant update is regarding our construction plans. We are in the final stages of approval with the

Planning Commission and the City Council in March. We have networked and incorporated feedback from the

Kutzky Park Neighborhood Association and are awaiting final construction agreements. The reality of this project is

gaining traction. We will be hosting a Special Assembly in the next 1-2 months following final City Council approval.

This assembly will be the final approval for the proposed plans and budget with the hope to break ground late spring.

Please review the building plans posted in the Fellowship Hall and ask questions to any member of the Building

Committee or Parish Council. I would also like to extend a special thank you to Tim Kelly for heading up this project

on behalf of the Building Committee and Parish Council.

As we embark on this momentous addition to our church, it will come with some growing pains. We ask for your

flexibility in how we host our Fellowship after liturgy. We will instill some creativity in lesson plans, timelines, and

scheduling for our youth education. Additionally, we will have some challenges with this years Greek Festival.

Despite these challenges, we have many driven, intelligent, and flexible parishioners and volunteers. Together, we will

ensure that we grow even more from this experience and treasure the spiritual reward of education and fellowship for

years to come.

In Christ,

Aaron Biedermann - Parish Council President

Philoxenia House

This month I have only one item to share about the Philoxenia House Ministry News. The Metropolis of Chicago held

their annual Basketball Tournament in Milwaukee the weekend of February 14th. The Philoxenia House Ministry will

be receiving a portion of the proceeds from the tournament. We want to take this opportunity to thank the players,

Presbytera Michelle, Calli Kelly and Johnny Mangouras for making the long trip. Johnny, who has so little free time

because of his business, actually drove all the way to Milwaukee that Saturday afternoon and gave a Philoxenia House

Ministry talk at the evening dinner. Immediately after his speech, he turned around and drove home arriving very

early Sunday morning. Thank you Johnny for taking the time to do this.

Otherwise, the Philoxenia Houses have been very busy the first few months of

the year. Last month both houses were consistently occupied except when one of

the apartments was vacant for approximately 3 days which allowed us to give it a

good cleaning before our next guest arrived. Our ministry continues to serve.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support.

Sincerely in Christ,

Bradley Holman

President


Youth Team This year promises to bring much change and infinite gratitude as we anticipate the groundbreaking for our new

educational center and fellowship hall. Our teachers are excitedly anticipating our new classroom space in which to

serve the children of our parish. Our parish is continually blessed with amazing opportunities to grow in love and in

spirit. Glory be to God!

We are more than half way through the church school year already! In addition, Faith Nights continue. In January,

GOYAs topic was Integrity, with a reflection on Joseph of the Old Testament, who endured many trials that tested

his faith yet never lost hope and maintained his integrity as a God-fearing man. Likewise, God uses real life

circumstances in our lives, sometimes difficult to endure, to cultivate patience and strength, molding us into a better

likeness of the image in which we were created, to bring us closer to Him. The lesson remains pertinent throughout the

generations. In February, we reflected on the Jesus Prayer and how we in the world might practically apply to our

lives St. Pauls exhortation to pray without ceasing. An excellent segue to the start of Lent. We can turn to and

recognize the presence of God in moments of joy, uncertainty, sadness, fear. We can recognize the presence of God in

each other and in the beauty of the world. We can talk to God at any time. We can pray without ceasing.

Next up: Save the dates for the GOYA Faith Night on March 8th after Presanctified Liturgy and the Lenten Lock-In

on March 20-21! We are hopeful GOYAns can help with readings throughout the Lenten season. JOY will help with

Akathist readings on February 27th.

We are thrilled to announce that Theoni Kolas one of our GOYA officers WON the nationwide GOA Youth

Orthodoxy in Motion video contest! Theonis entry, Faith Brings Us Strength, can be viewed here:

http://goo.gl/eG0ZaI

We recognize and appreciate the courage and conviction Theoni showed in putting forth this effort. Way to go,

Theoni!

Old Man Winter cooperated this year and GOYA was able to enjoy a fast-moving, broom-shattering set of matches in

Broomball!! No player injuries, thank goodness! We appreciated the warm hospitality of the Kolas Family afterwards.

Hot chocolate never tasted so good!

http://goo.gl/eG0ZaI


Youth Team ~ continued ~

Holy Anargyroi youth once again participate in the Metropolis Basketball Tournament which, this year, was hosted

by Sts. Constantine and Helen in Wauwatosa, WI. Maria, Christina, and Stephania Kelly and Gabe, Nina, and

Sebastian Munoz joined forces with the St. George JOY and GOYA teams as we have in the past. The JOY team took

Second Place for the second year in a row! Many thanks to St. George for welcoming our children so warmly for this

fun event and to our children for representing our parish.

We will hold our St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival on the celebration of the Triumph of Orthodoxy

Orthodoxy Sunday as has been our tradition the last few years. Many thanks to Amy Franqueira for taking over the

reins for this event this year. This is a wonderful opportunity for our children to research, reflect upon, and express

their faith. And a great way to gain experience in public speaking before a loving audience. This year, each Senior

and Junior division first, second, and third place finalist in each category (Oratory, Poetry, and Essay) at the parish

level of competition is eligible to receive a Chrysostom Scholarship to Hellenic College. What an amazing award!

Please encourage your students to register with Amy and participate. And please come out to Coffee Hour on March

1st to acknowledge our students efforts and courage in this endeavor.

Forgiveness Vespers will soon usher in Great Lent. We will again exclaim: Forgive me the sinner! We pray that we

may greet the Fast with a clean, loving, repentant heart. From the Vespers service: Let us cheerfully begin the

season of Lent, and undergo the spiritual struggles. Let us purify and cleanse our souls and bodiesthen be counted

worthy to see the solemn Passion of Christ our God, and to celebrate holy Pascha with spiritual joy.

We wish all a blessed, peaceful, spiritually fruitful Great Lent.

In Christ,

Your Youth Team

Loredana Jerguita, Mike Brekke, Halina Woroncow

Do we forgive our neighbors their trespasses? God also forgives us in His mercy. Do we refuse

to forgive? God, too, will refuse to forgive us. As we treat our neighbors, so also does God treat

us. The forgiveness, then, of your sins or unforgiveness, and hence also your salvation or

destruction, depend on you yourself, man. For without forgiveness of sins there is no salvation.

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk - 18th century


St. Philothei

Once a month, a group of parishioners gather in the church kitchen, under the

guidance of Trevor Hamlen, to prepare the weekend meals for the Rochester

Womens Shelter. In an one and a half hours we prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner

for the shelter. We meet the third Thursday at 6pm and

everyone is welcome to join us. The project cost $200 each

month to operate and is supported by parishioners donations.

To donate, designate your check to Holy Anargyroi with St

Philothei Project written in the corner. Thank you!

Philoptochos Society Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We are collecting dues for the 2015 year; if you haven't already, please consider paying dues or making a donation of

$21 or more. Loredana Jerghiuta is our Treasurer. Thank you!

Our next meeting is on Tuesday, March 3rd at 6pm in the church library. The January and February meetings were

held during some rough winter weather and a few hardy souls showed up for both meetings. The resilience of the

Philoptochos woman is always awe inspiring for me! Hopefully Marchs meeting will be with warmer temps with no

ice and snow.

Recent proceeds are:

$2, 121 for the Holiday Bake Sale. This money goes right into our budget to give away to our many international,

national, regional and local charities. Thank you to Penny Kolas and Maria Thomas for overseeing the Bake Sale and

to Connie Maragos for suggesting we sell our Bake Sale items during the Christmas Pageant.

$300 in tray passing for St Basil Academy in January. Thank you to all the parishioners who donated towards this.

$625 for the St. Philothei Project from our spaghetti dinner fundraiser in January. Thank you to Maria Thomas, Maria

Pasalis and Koula Magaritsidis for the donation of the cost of the food so all proceeds can go to the St Philothei

Project. Also a very special thank you to Connie and Gordy Hoke for their $1,000 to St Philothei! Thank you all!

This Sunday the 22nd is our Cheesefare Luncheon for Hellenic College/Holy

Cross School of Theology. Thank you to Angie Rustad who has donated the

cost of the food in honor of her father, Konstantinos, and her uncle, Argirios so

all proceeds from the luncheon can be sent directly to the college. May

Konstantinos and Argirios memory be eternal.

(left to right in the photo) Jackie Barbes, Angie Rustad, Penny Kolas, Mando

Katselis and Denise Mangouras working the Philoptochos Enrollment Sunday

spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the St Philothei Project.

With sisterly love in Christ+

Calli Kelly

Philoptochos President


Outreach: Ethnic Potluck

2015.02-03_BoxandSpoon

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