April 2016 Monthly Newsletter

608 SOUTH COLLEGE ROAD WILMINGTON NC 28403 (910) 392-4444 FAX (910) 392-4905

www.stnicholaswilmington.org

Holy Friday

April 29

April 2016

http://www.stnicholaswilmington.org/

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church April 2016

Fr. Jon Emanuelson

Parish Priest

Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 9AM – 2PM

Office Phone: 910-392-4444 Office Fax: 910-392-4905

Fr. Jon’s Mobile Number: 910-685-0080

Office Email: [email protected]

Fr. Jon’s Email: [email protected]

Church Website: www.stnicholaswilmington.org

Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/StNicholasWilmington

2016 PARISH COUNCIL

CHURCH STAFF

Angelique Skandalakis, Parish Office Administrator

PARISH MINISTRY TEAM

Officers Members

Barbara Reynolds, President Evangelos Fragos Debra Rallis

Jack Poulos, Vice President Peter Manolukas Nick Saffo

Tina Bostic, Treasurer Emanuel Miliotis Maria Stasios

Peter Malahias, Assistant Treasurer

Irene Sotiriou Vogiatzis, Secretary

Emanuel Miliotis, Chairman of the Council of Ministries

Religious Education…Richard Reynolds, Ministry Chair Communications - Technology Ministries…

Adult Education…Richard Reynolds Alexandros Theodoropoulos , Ministry Group Leader

Youth Catechism…Courtney Malahias, Director Webmaster… Alexandros Theodoropoulos

Bookstore/Library…Mary Ann Wall Publications…Angelique Skandalakis, Stella McTaggart

Oratorical Festival…Courtney Malahias Technology… Alexandros Theodoropoulos

Media/Community Relations…Debra Rallis, Alexandros

Hellenic Culture…Kitsa Wiersteiner, Ministry Chair Theodoropoulos

Hellenic School…Anestis Logothetis, Acting Director

Romiosini Dance Group…Zaharoula Katsikis Parish Family Life…**Volunteer Needed**

Zoyra Dance Group…Lucas Bostic, Katerina Katsikis Parish Family Night…**Volunteer Needed**

Choral…Dr. Michael Rallis Men’s Group…Richard Reynolds

Special Activities… Kitsa Wiersteiner Women’s Group…**Volunteer Needed**

Forever Young…Stella Vallianos

Youth Diakonia…Doug Brown, Ministry Chair LOVE…Angelique Skandalakis, Kay Skandalakis

GOYA…Benjalee Pittman, Alexia Porzio, Doug Brown,

Courtney Malahias Outreach & Evangelism…Diane McGowan, Ministry Chair

HOPE/JOY… Joyce Patsalos, Sophia Brewer, OCF…Fr. Jon, Alexandros Theodoropoulos

Jaime Saffo, Renée Karonis Psilos, Connie Ronner Hospitality…Ed Mayorga, Kathleen Mayorga

Metropolis Strategic Planning...Koula Katsikis Community Service…Christina Mount

Parish Care…Pat Poulos, Tina Stamatakis,

Liturgical Life… Dr. Michael Rallis, Ministry Chair Kay Skandalakis , Dr. Mary Frankos

Liturgical Music… Dr. Michael Rallis

Acolytes…Doug Brown Philoptochos…Tia Saffo, Chapter President

Neokoros/Sexton…**Volunteer Needed**

Stewardship…Debra Rallis

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.stnicholaswilmington.org/

http://www.facebook.com/StNicholasWilmington


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From the Desk of Father Jon

On Loving God in Worship

- Our Lenten Journey

The Prophet and King David wrote:

“How beloved are Your dwellings, O Lord of hosts. My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord; My

heart and my flesh greatly rejoice in the living God. For even the sparrow found a house for herself, and the

turtledove a nest for herself, where she will lay her young, Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my

God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They shall praise You unto ages of ages. For one day in

Your courts is better than a thousand; I chose to be an outcast in the house of my God, Rather than to dwell in

the tents of sinners.” Ps 84:2-5, 11 OSB

A blessed Lenten journey to you all! Καλή Τεσσαρακοστή! The month of April leads us through the majori-

ty of our great Fast. I pray that each and every one of you partake of the offerings of our Orthodox Church

through the worship in the days to come. As we lead up to the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ, may our hearts and souls be strengthened by services and Mysteries of our Orthodox Church.

In the Psalm passage above from the Orthodox Study Bible is titled “For the End, concerning the

winepresses; a psalm for the sons of Korah”. This was written by King David in a time when he was perse-

cuted by King Saul and just afterward. The Ark of the Covenant resided in a barn next to a vineyard. King

David came to visit these wondrous places (1 Kingdoms 7:1-3, 2 Kingdoms 6) at the house of Abinadab in the

threshing floor of Nachon and at the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The sons of Korah were the great

chanters of Israel for generations.

For the King and Prophet David, being in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant was very much be-

ing in the presence of God, for God dwelt on the mercy seat between the cherubim. We too, are so blessed

like King David to dwell in the Presence of God in our holy St. Nicholas Church. We worship in front of an

Altar on which resides the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the reserve Eucharist. This Presence of

God never leaves the Altar and is renewed every Holy Thursday at the Vesporal-Liturgy of the Mystical Sup-

per! Thus, we are called to dwell in the house of God, to be in His Presence and worship Him!

“During the Divine Liturgy, many times there are Liturgical Payers, Peace Supplications and En-

treaties that urge us about how our posture, our psychological mood and even our movements should be when

we partake in the Divine Liturgy! All of us, who are going to come to the Holy Church Temple, should be

appropriately prepared. We should be entering (all of us, priests too) “with faith, reverence and fear of God,

as the fourth great petition of the Great Litany presupposed. We should all be adorned with the same exact

virtues when we are invited to the Common Cup of eternal Life: “with fear of God and faith and love, draw

near”.

“The Eucharistic Table of Holy Communion during the Divine Office, says St. Nicholas Cabasilas,

puts for us to dwell in Christ and for Christ to dwell in us, for He Himself said, “He that eats my flesh and

drinks my blood dwells in Me, and I in him.” He is for us both a dweller and a dwelling…and we are fortu-

nate for our dwelling and very fortunate that we have become the dwelling for such a Divine Master.”

Thus, in this time of repentance, fasting, giving of alms, reading of Scripture and prayer as a commu-

nity, we are transported. The Church Militant and the Church Triumphant are joined together in heavenly

worship. How can we not desire this Divine Communion?!


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All that are involved in the Liturgical Life ministry of our St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church are

very hopeful you will participate in the services of Great Lent. Liturgy, by its very definition in Greek, is the

“work of the people.” Therefore, we are called to house of God to be working together!

In the months to come, we will be implementing some refinements in the worship that make it even more in-

viting to engage in worship of the one, true and living God! The only way to know about them is to be in

church. Many people have started participating more and we are looking forward to Pascha. Lastly, the new

official translation of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom will become available this summer. God

willing, someone will step forward to donate the copies we need for the parish.

Love always, Fr. Jon

Orthodox Study Bible

Experiences During the Divine Liturgy, Protopresbyter Stephanos K. Anagnostopoulos

From the Parish Council President

Barbara Reynolds

Spring in Wilmington is a beautiful time of year. It is also a beautiful time of year in our Orthodox liturgical

calendar. In March we started Great Lent with Forgiveness Sunday which is a beautiful and very important

service. This was followed with a week of Great Compline, Pre-Sanctified Liturgy, Salutations and the third

Saturday of the Souls services. On March 13 we enjoyed hearing the speeches of our youth at the Oratorical

Festival. Sunday the 20th of March was the Sunday of Orthodoxy. On March 24th and 25th we celebrated the

Annunciation of the Theotokos with Vespers and Liturgy.

We will celebrate Greek Independence Day on April 3. In April we will have many more beautiful services to

look forward to. We should try to attend as many services as possible. Every week there will be Great Com-

pline services, Pre-Sanctified Liturgy and Salutation services as well as Saturday night Vespers and Sunday

Liturgy. The month concludes with Holy Week with beautiful services every day leading up to Pascha on May

1 followed by the Agape picnic at Hugh McRae Park. I am looking forward to spending the Great Lent and

Pascha season with my St. Nicholas family.

SAVE THE DATE - MAY

May 1: Great and Holy Pascha with Agape Services

May 13-15: Greek Festival

May 29: Philoptochos End of Year Event


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Outreach & Evangelism Diane Kastran McGowan

YOUR PASCHA JOURNEY

As reported by co-chairs, Nick & Kristi Dodge, “As

many of you know our ministry hosted a luncheon on

February 28, 2016. The goal was to encourage our

parishioners to reach out to friends and family and

invite them to re-engage with the church. Giorgios

Restaurant prepared and delivered a delicious meal,

which was served to approximately 100 guests by our

GOYANs. Deacon Tom Fernandez delivered a rivet-

ing lecture on the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

The O & E Ministry would like to thank everyone

who helped with the planning, and execution of the

luncheon.”

A FEW WORDS ABOUT OUTREACH. AS GOOD

ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS, OUTREACH IN THE

FORM OF LOVING AND CARING FOR ONE AN-

OTHER, REACHING OUT WHEN PEOPLE HAVE

GONE ASTRAY, ENCOURAGING, BEING

HOSPITABLE, OFFERING A HELPING HAND----

ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE WHAT WE

SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON WHEN WE COME

TO CHURCH AND ALWAYS, ACCORDING TO

OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. THIS SHOULD BE

PART OF OUR MINDSET NOT ONLY DURING

THIS BEAUTIFUL PASCHAL SEASON, BUT

ALL YEAR THROUGH !

A very special PASCHA season and holiday to all.

Καλη Αναστασι

Greek School Anestis Logothetis

The Greek Independence Day will be held in the Hel-

lenic Center after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday,

April 3. The guest speaker will be Dr. Michael Rallis.

The festivities will include poems, dances and songs

by our youngsters.

There will be a Lenten Luncheon sponsored by the

Hellenic School and prepared by Chris's Restaurant

as a fund raiser for the school. A donation of $10 per

person for the luncheon will be greatly appreciated.

The Greek School depends on your generosity since

it is tuition free. Please, come and support us in the

celebration of this special event.

On February 13 the Greek School and AHEPA spon-

sored the St. Valentine Dinner Dance. There was

tasty food, wonderful music for dancing and a lot of

good fellowship and fun. The Raffle had lots of nice

prizes, Greek foods, wines, brandy, dinner certificates

and an Apple Watch as the grand prize. The people

who came had a very good time and supported the

Greek School and the AHEPA charities. The folks

who did not make the dance missed a fun event. See

you in the next year St. Valentine Dance.

Treasurer’s Report Tina Bostic

LOVE Angelique Skandalakis and Kay Skandalakis

Hello LOVE families! We hope you all are enjoying

the sunshine and warm weather. We did not meet in

March but we are planning a Mom’s Night Out event

for our April get together. More information will be

sent via e-mail and our LOVE Facebook group. I

hope to see your lovely selves in April!

HOPE/JOY Joyce Patsalos, Sophia Brewer, Jaime Saffo,

Renée Karonis Psilos & Connie Ronner

For everyone that was able to make our last Camp-

Out themed event that was hosted by Sophia and

Nevin Brewer, we were happy that you were able to

make it! A great time was had by all!! Our next event

is scheduled for April 23. We will be having a youth

breakfast and Palm Cross making at the church.

Please mark your calendars! This is a annual event

that everyone really enjoys and is a great time for fel-

lowship! Also, April 29 is our Good Friday youth

retreat! This is also a another annual event that

shouldn't be missed. We look forward to hopefully

seeing you all at these next two events! For any

questions about these or future events, please feel free

Stewardship

Stewardship

Received

Stewardship

Goal Variance

January $45,594.06 $21,847.36 $23,746.70

February $11,761.00 $21,847.36 -$10,086.36

Year to

Date $57,355.06 $43,694.72 $13,660.34


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to contact one of our advisors.

In Christ's Service,

Joyce Patsalos, Jamie Saffo, Sophia Brewer, Connie

Ronner, and Renée Psilos

Romiosini and Zoyra

We will have our Greek Independence Day celebra-

tion on April 3rd. Our dancers will perform for us

their award winning dances. Please join us as we cele-

brate our church holiday as well as our Greek national

holiday.

At our Greek Independence Day Celebration, we will

also recognize and celebrate our dancers and directors

who participated in the Hellenic Dance Festival in Or-

lando. A big 'Thank you' goes out to Nota Dukas for

her award winning costumes AXOIA. Also a big

"Thank you" to Zaharoula Katsikis, Lucas Bostic and

Katerina Katsikis for spending all their free time

teaching our youth to dance and to enjoy and appreci-

ate Greek Dancing - AXOIOI.

Finally, preparations have begun for those interested

in dancing for our Greek Festival on May 13, 14, and

15. Please see one of our dance directors if interested.

Philoptochos Enosis Chapter #5027

Tia Saffo

We have already started to prepare for Great and Holy

Pascha. Please see Page 8 for the order form for your

Easter Flower offerings. It is a great help if you are

able to place your order early!

Please join us on April 24th for our Palm Sunday

luncheon, immediately following the Divine Liturgy.

Tickets are available on Sundays during the coffee

hour - see a Philoptochos member. This will be our

last fundraising event for the spring, so please come

join us and support this lovely luncheon with your

family. Chris's Restaurant will be preparing the meal.

Our board only will be meeting in April, and the next

General Meeting will be our Year -end Social in May.

The date and time will be announced shortly. We

hope everyone will attend. We will be finalizing 2016

memberships April and May. On April 1st we will

post a list of the 2016 members on our bulletin board,

so make sure your name is on it! We will be welcom-

ing all 2016 members with a token Christmas Orna-

ment. Just ask a board member for details.

Thank you to all the ladies who have been working so

hard to make this year a great year. It is never too late

to join, so sign up this Sunday, all are welcome.

Please support our Greek School on Sunday April 3rd,

as they celebrate Greek Independence Day!

Community News

GREEK FESTIVAL

Our Greek Festival will be May 13th-15th. For a suc-

cessful event we need all hands on deck in every ca-

pacity.

For sponsorship opportunities, please consider pur-

chasing an ad to send your greeting to our Wilmington

Community. You get lots of free meal, admission and

pastry box tickets at every level, to share with family

and friends. See our flyer on our website AND page

10 of this Newsletter.

Additionally, we use food distributors to order food

and paper products, however if you would like to do-

nate a certain item such as tomatoes, onions, lettuce,

lamb, beans, dolmathes, rice, potatoes, bread, napkins,

silverware, etc. please let us know so we can order

these items directly from the distributors. For any

food or monetary donation, please contact the office at

910-392-4444.

DONATION REQUESTS

TIME, TALENT, OR TREASURE

We are looking for a handyman (or woman) to volun-

teer to help with minor repairs around the church.

We are accepting donations as we continue to improve

our Hellenic Center. Any donations would be greatly

appreciated. Items needed include new banquet

chairs.

Please donate all weekly coupons from newspapers & ads

to the Hellenic Center. These coupons will be used to help

our parishioners save money on products. For more infor-

mation, please see Benjalee Pittman.


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We are looking for volunteers to host coffee hour. If you

are interested in hosting coffee hour please contact Angel-

ique Skandalakis in the Office. For the weeks when we do

not have a volunteer we will still have coffee and juice.

FOR SALE

We have Greek wine for sale! If you would like to purchase

a bottle, please see a Parish Council member.

CONGRATULATIONS

For all the people celebrating their birthday, anniversary,

and name day in the month of April, may you have many

happy years! Many Happy Years!

On March 6 we held a 40-day blessing for Kostandeano

“Dean” David, the son of Jack and Danielle Poulos.

PLEASE REMEMBER

Please pray for those who are ill, recovering, and/or home-

bound: Presbytera Barbara, Bobby Bobon (brother of Sue

Lawler), Stavros Chantiles, Sophia Copes, Sherry Demas,

Theodore James Demas, Katherine Demetriou (sister of

Angelo), Nicholas Devoles, Constantine Dukas, Larry

Flowers, Sue Fokakis (Silver Stream), George Fokakis

(Pacifica Nursing Home), Demitra George, Nick Karlout-

sos (Silver Stream), Angelo Katris, Dan Kirkby (brother of

Matthew), Labra Koklanaris (Trinity), Nikoloas Kotsinis,

Rev. Fr. Manousos Emmanuel Lionikis, Olga Mancuso,

John Petrolias, Koula K. Poulos, Claire Skarpentzos, Pat

Skinner-Darby, Charity Skinner-Darby (daughter of Pat),

John & Olympia Stamboulos, and Andy Tsingelis.


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Marriage Retreat for Married Couples

Saturday June 18, 2016, NOON-5pm

Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox Church,

Florence, South Carolina

Contact St. Nicholas Church Office for cost and registration information


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For a complete and up-to-date version of our Parish Calendar, please visit us online at:

http://www.stnicholaswilmington.org/ParishCalendar.html

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April 2016 Monthly Newsletter

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