A Blessed Great Lent to All!

VOLUME 30 NUMBER 3

March 2020

“Let us present a good fast, well-pleasing to the Lord! A true fast is alienation from the evil one; the holding of one's tongue, the laying aside of all anger, the removal of all sensuality, of accusation, falsehood and sins of swearing. The weakening of these will make the fast true and well-pleasing.” ~Hymn from Vespers of Clean Monday

Dearest Spiritual Ohana, It is with an overwhelming sense of joy, at least

for me and, hopefully, for all of you, that we enter into the Season of Great Lent on Monday, March 2nd! I wish all of you a Most Blessed Journey through this specially appointed time of the year, one that is fulfilling and joyful as we “taste and see that Christ is the Lord,” as the Communion

Hymns from the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

proclaims. We go through this time of the year to refresh

ourselves and come to the realization of what a purposeful life is. A purposeful life is one that is fulfilled with the Presence of Christ in the center of it. No matter how hard we try to be happy in our lives, we cannot possibly be truly joyful without His Presence. The Lord loves us immeasurably and always desires to dwell in each of us, but it is our free will that allows Him to either enter or not to enter into the indwelling of our hearts.

Renowned Orthodox Theologian Fr. Alexander Schmemann, of blessed memory, had a phrase that was simple, yet profound: “Taking Lent seriously.” This is a concrete sign that we are to take God seriously. Jesus Christ, Himself, was very serious, especially when it came to life and death, and God and salvation. We, too, need to take Great Lent and God seriously.

I found some wonderful advice on how we can be truly serious about Great Lent and God. I would like to share the following with you from Fr. Steven Kostoff of the Orthodox Church in America (O.C.A.): “Great Lent is the ‘School of Repentance.’ It is roughly equivalent to an “annual tithe” in which we offer ourselves back to God so as to be received with love, as was the prodigal son. As such, Great Lent is a gift from God, guiding us toward a way of life we may be reluctant to assume on our own, suffering as we often are from spiritual apathy or a simple lack of

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focus. Great Lent is also goal-oriented, for it leads us on a spiritual pilgrimage of preparation toward the ‘night brighter than the day’ of Pascha and the Risen Lord. Great Lent is ‘sacred’ and ‘soul-profiting.’ It is a key component in the Orthodox Way of living out the Christian life to which we have been committed in holy Baptism.” Fr. Kostoff, then goes on to offer us some great, practical advice: “What can we do? How do we not squander this time set aside for God?”

• Prayer - Make provision to be in church for some of the Lenten services. Assume or resume a regular Rule of Prayer in your home. Read the psalms and other Scripture carefully and prayerfully. Pray for others.

• Charity - Open your heart to your neighbor. If you believe that Christ dwells within you, then try to see Christ in your neighbor. Make your presence for the “other” encouraging and supportive. Restrain your “ego” for the sake of your neighbor. Help someone in a concrete manner this Great Lent.

Fasting - Set domestic goals about the manner in which you will observe the fast. Test yourselves. Resist minimalism. If you “break” the fast, do not get discouraged or “give up,” but start over. Assume that your Orthodox neighbor

is observing the fast. Seek silence. Allow for a different atmosphere in the home. With all these in mind, let us take courage and embark upon the journey through Great Lent, knowing that it is for our personal benefit, with the purpose for us to live a life filled with true joy, having Christ dwelling within us and always being in our midst.

May we complete this journey, with our hearts illumined and ready, to walk with Christ through His Passion, Crucifixion, Death on the Cross, His Descent into Hades and ultimately rejoice in the Celebration of His Holy Resurrection.

Have a Blessed Great Lent!

With Love in Christ,

+Fr. Alexander

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Shorelines is published Monthly by:

Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of

the Pacific 930 Lunalilo Street

Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 Phone : (808) 521-7220

Fax : (808) 523-0429 E-Mail:

office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Parish Web Site:

www.greekorthodoxhawaii.org

Regular Office Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday - Friday

Rev. Father Alexander M. Leong fralexanderleong@yahoo.com

Church Staff Debby McGraw - Office Coordinator

office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org

2020 Parish Council pc@greekorthodoxhawaii.org

Trish Kiladis, President Cleopatra Kritikos, Vice President

Roni Katsikas, Treasurer Lawrence Wheeler, Secretary Terrence Bruno, Peter Hwu, John Kiladis, Susan Shaindlin,

Andrew Tujios

Sunday School Director Presbytera Nicole Leong

Sunday School Teachers Shawn Chu, Lauren Cooper, Jesse Horiuchi, Chloe Hysell,

Hannah LeFors, Peter Katsikas, Maria Naval, David Parker,

Mabel Sanqui, Gabrielle Thompson

Philoptochos Board Anita Higashi, President;

Eres Eddy, Vice President; Rhodora Banasihan, Treasurer;

Alice Malick, Recording Secretary; Valentina Varovaya, Corr. Secretary;

Anita Akel-Soileau, Advisor

Choir-Chanters Orest Saikevych, Music Director

Gregory Malick, Protopsaltis

Parish Ministries Stelio Scordilis, Aloha Youth Choir;

Tina Dimitrion, Bookstore; Dianna Graves, Greek Dance Groups;

Stelio Scordilis, Greek School; Julie Ličina, Web Master; Anita Higashi, Facebook

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Adult Religious Education

We are currently working with a marvelous series, “A Journey to Fullness” by Fr. Barnabas Powell to discover/rediscover

the fullness of our Orthodox Christian Faith.

——————————————————— We meet on available Sundays,

at 12:30 p.m., in the Conference Room

for learning, discussion and fellowship.

Please see Weekly Bulletins for updates and

for more information.

Attention Young Adults 18-30

————————————— Young Adult Fellowship during Great Lent

will meet on select Thursdays, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Theme for March: “Confession”

Check your Weekly Bulletin for any updates or changes in our venue.

If interested, please see Fr. Alexander.

If you would like to be added to the group email list, please email us at office@greekorthoxhawaii.org.

Weekday Services in March

Announcements

GREAT COMPLINE Mon. 3/2 6:30 pm

3RD SATURDAY OF SOULS Sat. 3/7 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 am

PRESANCTIFIED LITURGY Wed. 3/4, 11, 18 6:00 pm

SALUTATIONS TO THE THEOTOKOS Fri, 3/6, 13, 20, 27 6:30 pm

GREAT VESPERS Sat. 3/14, 3/21 Vespers 5:30 pm

GREAT VESPERS (ANNUNCIATION) Tue. 3/24 Vespers 6:30 pm

ANNUNCIATION Wed. 3/25 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 am

MAUI SERVICES Sat. 3/28 Liturgy 10:30 am

Save the Date

Sunday, April 26, 2020

12:15 pm Social Hall, Partition Room

Mandatory Dance Group Meeting for New Dancers/Parents that want to find

out “How Dance Group Functions”

This meeting is also for previous dancers and FDF dancers that want to

rejoin the dance group.

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Our Vision Be a beacon of Orthodoxy in Hawaii

Our Mission

Proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all people in accordance with the

Orthodox Faith.

Goals To sanctify and minister to the spiritual

growth and needs of the faithful through liturgical worship and spiritual programs.

To safeguard and keep the traditions, values, and faith of the Orthodox Church

pure and undefiled.

Please remember in your

prayers

Judy Economou

Elizabeth Gekas

John & Dina Giannakopoulos

Paul Kelley

Julie Ličina

Alice Marie Malick

The Melzack Family

George Missias

John Mitsis

Christina Yepez

and all those needing our prayers.

March Parish Council

Teams

3/1 Peter

3/8 Chip

3/15 Trish

3/22 Susan

3/29 Terrence

Learn Greek!

Beginners

Sunday 12:00—1:00 PM

Beginners II

Friday 5:30—6:30 PM

Intermediate

Sunday 1:00 –2:00 PM

Advanced

Friday 6:30—7:30 PM

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Dear SS Constantine & Helen Ohana,

The Great Lent has just begun!

I always wonder how I am going to apply myself throughout this special journey to Pascha; not only as a person, but also as a mother. I did not grow up practicing our Church’s Teachings and Traditions, so it has always been rather challenging for me to guide my children through daily practices.

While I was looking for the resources, I happened to find the following blog article, 40 Activities for Great Lent by Sylvia Leontaritis. I think you can use some of the suggestions and adapt them to fit your family’s needs.

from the archives of Adventures of an Orthodox Mom…

One of the things parents constantly ask is how to keep their children involved during lent. It’s a tricky business, this Orthodox child rearing. As parents we struggle with finding balance between regular every day activities (both theirs and ours) and making sure our children keep in mind the seriousness of what we’re preparing for. Involving them should be a process everyone enjoys, a special time to pass on spiritual lessons in a way a child will both learn from and have fun with.

Below is a list of activities, one for every day of the fast except for Holy Week.

Great Lent is a busy period full of extra services and hopefully more outreach and personal prayer, so this list is to simply help you fill in the holes as needed. You can follow it and do each activity on

the day it’s assigned, choose only the days you want or need an extra activity, or simply go through the entire list and highlight the ones you really like. It’s completely up to you. The important thing is to not become overwhelmed-keeping a peaceful and prayerful spirit and home should be first priority! Week One Monday- Choose a prayer or scripture verse to memorize. This could be the Jesus Prayer for smaller children, or Psalm 50 or the Creed for older ones. Practice it daily during lent. Tuesday- Talk about temptation and resisting it. Make a batch of Lenten cookies and leave them on the table for them to eat the next day #orthodoxresistance Wednesday- Order your child a prayer rope of their very own. You can get one at your church bookstore any of these shops. They’re both run by good friends of mine and I can vouch for their quality! Komboskinaki and KomboskiniKaterini Thursday- Bake Kyra Sarakosti cookies.” These are not to be eaten but your child will cut off one of her feet every Saturday as we count down to Pascha. Learn more about Lady Lent and get the recipe here.

Friday- Read Verses Alpha through Epsilon of Rejoice, Panagia: Offering to Children The Akathist Hymn. Since we attend the Salutation services each Friday during Great Lent, this book provides an excellent introduction to the service to children (and adults!) Attend the service and let them bring their book.

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them bring their book.

Saturday-Talk about the First Sunday of Great Lent-The Sunday of Orthodoxy which we celebrate every first Sunday of Lent. Let them choose their

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PHILOPTOCHOS CORNER

THE LADIES PHILOPTOCHOS SOCIETY

ALOHA CHAPTER

“Alone we can do so little;

together we can do so much.”

Come join us! It’s that time again to renew your Philoptochos

Membership. If you have not yet renewed your membership, please contact Alice Marie Malick at alicemariemalick@hawaii.rr.com.

Please become a member by supporting

Philoptochos with your time and charity to help our worthy causes and our community. It is a good time during our journey to Great Lent to give thanks through almsgiving, prayer and fasting.

Strategic Outreach Ministry Alliance

S O M A

Test drive your Outreach idea? Click on link

https://forms.gle/LXwQ9Rs6Ms3Zv4pU8

If you’ve got an idea or mission to grow our Parish that is in line with our Church Vision, Mission &

Parish Values of Worship, Fellowship, Spiritual Growth Education, Witness & Service to Others Contact us at soma@greekorthodoxhawaii.org

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Saturday-Talk about the First Sunday of Great Lent-The Sunday of Orthodoxy which we cele brate every first Sunday of Lent. Let them choose their favorite icon to bring to church to morrow.

Sunday-Watch a Christian themed movie. Some of my favorites are the Storykeepers and

Torchlighters series. All available here.

If you like, you can check the rest of the 40 activities by visiting http://www.orthodoxmom.com/2019/03/13/40-activities-for-great-lent/

Have A Joyous Lenten Season! In Christ, Pres. Nicole, SS Director

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Prayer Ministry

Come join us with the Saints and Angels at our next

in-person gathering: 11am, Thursday, March 19, 2020

Prayer Requests: Submit first names on a form in the

narthex or online at prayer@greekorthodoxhawaii.org

New! Our patron saint for the Prayer Ministry is St. Xenia. Her Feast Day is January 24. We ask for her Intercessions regarding: employment, marriage, the homeless, fires,

missing children and spouses.

Prayer Corner 3rd of a series

Last month’s Recap: To “meet” God is a moment of judgment for us. We need to take time He provides for us to judge ourselves and allow ourselves to see through “different” eyes. This lays the groundwork for Him to be manifest. Chapter 1 continued: The Absence of God

In a passage from St. Paul, he says ‘My power is manifest in weakness’. Weakness is not the kind of weakness which we show by sinning and forgetting God, but the kind of weakness which means being completely supple, completely transparent, completely abandoned in the hands of God. We usually try to be strong and we prevent God from manifesting His power.

Learn humility in the real, deep sense of this word. ‘Humility’ comes from the Latin word ‘humus’, i.e. fertile ground. Humility is not what we often make of it: imagining that we are the worst of all. Humility is the situation of the earth. The earth is always there, always taken for granted, never remembered, etc. It’s there, silent and accepting everything. But in a miraculous way, it makes new richness by being open to rain, sunshine and then is ready to receive any seed that can be sowed to reap thirtyfold or even a hundredfold. Learn to be like this before God: abandoned, surrendered, ready to receive anything from people and anything from God.

Wisdom of Metropolitan Anthony Bloom “Beginning To Pray”

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LEARN Byzantine Chant

Every Friday at 1:30pm

(with occasional exceptions– see weekly bulletin)

Ss Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific

930 Lunalilo St. Honolulu, HI

All are welcomed to join the group. No vocal experience required.

This is a laity group under the direction of Rev. Fr. Alexander Leong.

Time commitment: 1.5 hr. practice sessions on Fridays

for more information contact: Alice Marie Malick alicemariemalick@hawaii.rr.com

Fr. Alexander meets with

Catechumens, one on one, and is available to meet in small groups and

by conference call. The Catechism Series is available at:

partristicnectar.org For more information, please

contact Fr. Alexander.

Each individual/family is requested to sponsor a coffee hour one Sunday per year.

Sign up on the calendar posted outside the Social Hall or contact Frances R.

Instructions/tips for sponsoring a coffee hour are available in a 3-ring binder in a cupboard in the hall.

The Ladies of Philoptochos appreciate any donations of coffee supplies, including paper supplies to help defray some of the coffee hour expenses.

If you are hesitant to prepare and serve a coffee hour yourself, consider making a monetary donation.

Please do not bring non-Lenten food including cake & ice cream during fasting periods.

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Thank you to our February

Sunday Coffee Hour Sponsors!

2/2 Keiko Nicholas

2/9 Valentina

2/16 Banasihan Ohana

2/23 Cooper / Hallonquist

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Dance Group News

Nisiotopoula won the Special Achievement

Award for their Pontos Suite of Dances.

Nisiotes did a great performance in their Senior Category.

Aloha Youth Choir won First Place in the Division 1 Choral Category.

Share your news!

Announcements that you would like to see in the April issue of Shorelines should be submitted to the church office by March 15.

Please remember to contact the office to book the Social Hall, Partition room, Conference room, Library and Kitchen. Policy posted upstairs.

Weekly Bulletin announcements should be submitted by noon on Thursday for the upcoming Sunday.

Email your announcement to office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org, call 521-7220, or drop it by the office. Maui Orthodox Christian Mission reminds those who attend services on Maui to visit www.mauimission.org, call 617-838-7904 to verify services. or look for other activities that may be posted.

We had a wonderful time at FDF representing Hawaii with over 35 parishes in our diocese. We packaged food for over 35,000 individuals for Philoptochos. We went to church, attended workshops by priests, and met people we have become friends with through the years.

The Dance Group thanks the Parish for helping us get to FDF. The Awards Banquet had 3,000 dancers and parents in attendance. If you are Greek, you have to go to FDF. If you are not Greek you have to go to FDF. Where can you meet 3,000 Orthodox in one place? We will not have Dance Practice after Liturgy on Sundays until after Pascha in respect of Great Lent. Mandatory Dance Group Meeting on Sunday, April 26, after Liturgy at 12:15pm in the Social Hall partition room. This meeting is for New Dancers/Parents who have never danced with us; also for previous dancers who did not go to FDF, and FDF dancers. “How Does Dance Group Function?”

Recycling is still our fundraiser throughout the year. Thank you for contributing.

Dianna Graves Dance Ministry Director

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This year’s Greek Orthodox Folk Dance & Festival (FDF) took place February 13-16 at the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, California. FDF is the largest youth ministry program of the Metropolis of San Francisco, hosting over 3,000 participants annually. Once again, the Aloha Youth Choir very successfully represented our Parish, winning 1st place in the choral competition, Division 1. We competed against 8 choirs this year, and the quality level was very high...the competition very stiff. Congratulations are in order to all the kids for their hard work, as well as to the parents that always support them by bringing them to rehearsals twice a week. We want to again thank our Parish Council, as well as individual donors, who made our trip to Anaheim possible. For more information, visit www.yourfdf.org and also see Dance Group News on Page 9. Please enjoy these photos!

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Christian Stewardship is… …learning how to be a responsible and concerned caretaker of Christ’s Church; it is learn-ing how to enjoy Church life and be happy in Church work. for in Her dwells the fullness of the Spirit of God. …our active commitment to use all our time, talent and treasure for the benefit of human-kind in grateful acknowledgment of Christ’s redeeming love. …caring for the needs of others. …offering one’s self to God as He offered Himself to us. …what a person does after saying “I believe…”, as proof of that belief. …devotion and service to God and His Church as persons, as families, as diocese/metropolis, as national Church and as Church universal.

Williams & McKibben in Oriented Leadership

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