St. John the BaptiStGreek orthodox ChurCh

Witnessing the Truth of Apostolic Christianity

14485 SW Walker Road * Beaverton, OR 97006Office: 503.644.7444 Fax: 503.296.2507

E-mail: churchoffice@stjohngoc.org * Parish Website: stjohngoc.orgNEW Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday

9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.February 2016VOL. X1X NO. 2

NONPROFIT ORGUS POSTAGE PAIDBEAVERTON, ORPERMIT NO. 24

St. John the BaptiSt Greek orthodox ChurCh

14485 SW Walker road

Beaverton or 97006

change service requested

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The Church Office will be closed on

Monday, February 15th

for Presidents’ Day

On February 2nd, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of her twelve major feast days, The Presentation of our Lord in the Temple.

“Forty days after His birth the God-Infant was taken to the Jerusalem Temple, the center of the nation’s religious life. According to the Law of Moses (Lev. 12:2-8), a woman who gave birth to a male child was forbidden to enter the Temple of God for forty days. At the end of this time the mother came to the Temple with the child, to offer a young lamb or pigeon to the Lord as a purification sacrifice. The Most Holy Virgin, the Mother of God, had no need of purification, since she had given birth to the Source of purity and sanctity without defilement. However, she humbly fulfilled the requirements of the Law.

At this time the righteous Elder Simeon (February 3) was living in Jerusalem. It had been revealed to him that he would not die until he should behold the promised Messiah. By inspiration from above, St Simeon went to the Temple at the very moment when the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Joseph had brought the Infant Jesus to fulfill the Law.

The God-Receiver Simeon took the divine Child in his arms, and giving thanks to God, he spoke the words repeated by the Church each evening at Vespers: “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).

This practice of “churching” continues to this day in the Orthodox faith. The prayers contained in this

service are for both the mother, who has not attended since giving birth in order to allow for her body to heal and to bond with her child, and for the baby, who becomes a “periphery” member awaiting the great gift of holy Baptism. During the 40- day blessing, the

mother presents herself as ready to re-engage in the community, and she presents her child to the community for the first time. In both instances we have this “presentation” to Christ and to His Church, the faithful.

The presentation of our Lord in the Temple, and the presentation of children to the Church on their 40th day of life, affords us the opportunity to remember that each time we enter the church we are in fact “presenting” ourselves to the Lord. We are to come to His home bearing our hearts in hand, offering them to Christ as

the expression of our love and commitment to Him.

We also come offering Him our time and our attention to the words of the service. For what does it profit us if we go to the services and not give our attention to what is being said? When we are both physically present and mentally attentive, then we depart with St. Simenon’s words on our lips, “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation.”

We also present ourselves in the offering of the Liturgy, when we present our gifts, the bread and the wine, which symbolize and contain our whole life, and we say to God, “Your own of Your own, we offer to You in all and for all.” Our Lord accepts these gifts and is well pleased with them. This moment in the Divine Liturgy has great depth as we give to God elements of the earth,

Presenting Ourselves to Christ

Father’s Message continued on Page 3

SENIOR LUNCHEONMonday, February 22nd

at 11:00 AM

Fr. Theodore will discuss Repentance and Confession

Our luncheons are potluck. Please bring your favorite dish to share!

Join Us for Basics of Orthodoxy Classes January 13th through March 9th 2016

Class begins at 7:00pm on Wednesdays January 13th Holy Trinity January 20th Anthropology January 27th Church History I February 3rd Church History II February 10th Church Architecture & Iconography February 17th The Divine Liturgy February 24th Holy Tradition March 2nd The Theotokos & Saints March 9th Orthodox Spirituality I

The Orthodox Faith traces back to the Apostolic times, after Christ's Resurrection. There are approximately 250 million Orthodox Christians worldwide and 1.3 percent of the population in the United States. Eastern

Orthodoxy is the largest single religious faith in Belarus, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Russia and Ukraine.

Come and learn more about the Orthodox Faith!

March 28th through April 18th 2016 During Lent, please join us for Great Compline at 6:00 pm

Classes will start immediately after service at 7:00pm on Mondays March 28th Orthodox Spirituality II April 4th Orthodox Spirituality III April 11th Holy Mysteries I April 18th Holy Mysteries II

St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church

14485 SW Walker Rd, Beaverton OR 97006

503.644.7444 www.stjohngoc.org

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Feb. 1 – St. Brigid of KildareKathleen Brigid Powell

Feb. 2 - Anna the ProphetessJillian Walsh

Feb. 3 - St. Simeon the God-receiver, St. Eia, St. Nicholas of JapanEia Hailey

Simeon MuzikWayne (Nicholas) Olson

Feb. 6 – St. Julian of HomsJulian Theodore Smith

Feb. 8 – St. Theodore the General, St. ZachariasFr. Theodore Dorrance

Wade (Theodore) ChosvigZacharias Ketrenos

Zeb (Theodore) Hyde

Feb. 9 – St. ApolloniaCarri (Apollonia) Benson

Feb. 17 – St. Theodore of TyreTheodore Deming

Feb. 18 – St. LeoMonya (Leo) Martushev

Feb. 26 – St. PhotiniFotini Dorrance

Feb. 29 - St. John CassianCassian Contes

St. John The Baptist Greek Orthodox

Church

Rev. Fr. Theodore L. Dorrance, Priest Rev. Fr. Timothy Pavlatos, Priest

Fr. Innocent Duchow-Pressley, DeaconArgero Hall, Parish Administrator

2016 Parish CouncilErik Chosvig

Robert CrosbyJohn Davis, PresidentArthur “Ted” Deming

Karen Keese, Treasurer Mark LindgrenDemetri Mirras

Niko Poulos, Stewardship ChairSteve Roth

Kent Taylor, Vice PresidentGregory Walsh, Secretary

Joe Weick

Sunday SchoolJessie Crosby

Logos BookstoreAgape Ketrenos - Director

Paraskevi Whitton - Co-Director

Philoptochos Pres. Stacey Dorrance - Membership

Sandy Duchow-Pressley - Vice PresidentEleni Goldman - President

Colleen Van Sickle - Treasurer

Hospitality Stephanie Makarounis

Patricia Poulos

Moms & Tots Athena Gonzales Kendall Muzik

Church MusicPresvytera Stacey Dorrance

Altar BoysTobias Armstrong

Demetrius Van Sickle Barry Ketrenos

Dn. Innocent Duchow-Pressley

BookkeepingKathleen Ketrenos

NEWSLETTER DEADLINE

Articles & Announcements Wednesday, February 10th

For the March Newsletter

...to those celebrating Wedding Anniversaries:Michael & Donna Chan - 39 years

Meles Hagos & Genet Gebreeyesus - 20 yearsJohn & Jennifer Davis - 16 years

Norm & Eleni Goldman - 12 yearsDino & Maria Ramzi - 10 years

Memory Eternal:

Constantine Davis - 27 yearsParissis Roussos - 23 years

Christos Maletis Jr. - 7 years

*Please notify the church office if your feast or anniversary was not listed.

Many Years! XPONIA POLLA! MANY YEARS!.....to those celebrating their Feastday in February:

Immediate Opening! Agia Sophia Academy is seeking a K/1 teacher to teach the remainder of this school year. Full and Part-time options available. Due to the immediacy of this job opening, please email a letter of interest, and resume: elisha@asapdx.org. To find out more visit http://www.asapdx.org/about-us/employment.

Stewardship Snapshot2015 Final Numbers

Total Stewards: 108Total amount pledged $395,503Total amount received $427,647

2016 Beginning Numbers(as of 1/13/2015)

Total Stewards: 97Total amount Pledged: $405,834

2016 amount Pledged breakdown-

$0-$100: 3 families$201-$500: 13 families$501-$1000: 9 families

$1001-$3000: 23 families$3001-$6000: 23 families$6001-$9000: 11 families

$9001+: 12 families

If you haven’t already- turn in your 2016 pledge card to the Parish Administrator or a member of

the Stewardship Committee

The Strategic Plan Committee is Getting Organized

We’ve decided on a regular monthly meeting date and have developed two sub-teams.

One team will focus on ways to assess where we are today in the context of our church community, our local community and within the Metropolis. Expect to see information about a survey and other opportunities for input early next year [that is now planned for April]. This information will form the basis for our plan for the future of our parish.

The other team will be planning how to communicate with you! We expect there to be many opportunities for input from the parish and several methods to communicate. One will be a regular report in the monthly newsletter. We expect to develop some standard formats for our communication materials -- but we’re not quite there yet.

Father Daughter Dance

Join us for our annual

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

Father Daughter Dance Saturday, March 5, 2016

7:00 PM

Cost is $20.00/family

For more information, contact

Nick Mallos

(971) 563-0246

Pan-Orthodox Young Adults~ Orthodoxy on Tap ~

Tuesday, February 9thSpeaker: Fr. Paul Paris

Tuesday, March 8thSpeaker: Abbot Tryphon

6:30-7:00 PM - Socialize7:00 PM - Discussion w/ Guest Speaker

at the Lucky Lab Brewpub915 SE Hawthorne Blvd

10 3

from which we too have our origin, and He in His loving kindness, receives them in His heavenly altar, changes them into His Body and Blood and then returns them to us as the Food of Immortality. We offer him wheat and grapes, and in exchange, He gives us provisions for eternal life!

What can we give to the Lord that is of any significance? What can we offer to Him that is of any substance? There is nothing that we can present to Him in exchange for what He offers us. Yet, despite this reality, He does ask something from us, though He is in need of nothing. He wants our hearts! (Cf. Prov. 23:26). He desires our salvation and yet He knows that this is in part up to us. The free will that has been given to us, we must exercise by opening our hearts inviting Christ to come in and dwell within us. This is a conscious choice and an ongoing exercise. Each day as we rise from sleep we must present our self to Christ: “I am yours; save me” (Ps. 118: 94). Throughout each day we must present our self to Christ: “Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.” (Ps. :2). And when we go to sleep at night, we must present our self to Christ: “I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches” (Ps. 62:6).

Finally, we present our self to the Lord with each encounter we have with all other people. How we speak, how we conduct our self, how we respond to others all reflects how we are presenting our self before the Lord. This is why every thought, every word, every gesture, every action is our presentation to the Lord.

What an opportunity we have to offer our self to Christ our Lord every day, from morning to night. We have many hours each day to present our self and to show our gratitude to God. However, this will require a shift in our thinking, because we are not trained to think in these terms. Our mind typically surrenders itself to the thousands of thoughts that flood our mind every minute, so we must be intentional in this endeavor. We must practice putting the Lord before our eyes upon waking and keeping Him there throughout the day, mediating on His teachings, as the King David says. Only then will we offer our Lord our hearts undivided, and experience the Peace from above that bathes us with joy, the same joy the Righteous Simeon felt when he took the infant Jesus into his arms.

With love in Christ,Fr. Timothy

Father’s Message continued from Front Page

We look forward to spending a fun and classy evening full of fellowship and fondue together!

Look for the membership table during coffee hour!

Women of St. John the Baptist, You are invited to the Kick-off Philoptochos Gathering on Thursday, March 3rd at 7pm

Why attend this Kick-off event?

Become a member to submit and vote on our Chapter’s Patron Saint

Help select the ministries we will support

Offer your unique talents to our Chapter

Bond as sisters in Christ

Philoptochos

Oratorical Festival Rehearsal Breakfast

Saturday, February 20th at 9 a.m.Please come practice giving your speeches!

Breakfast will be provided, including homemade cinnamon rolls!

2016 Oratorical FestivalSaturday, March 5th

3 p.m. Jr. Division Speeches 4 p.m. Potluck Dinner

5 p.m. Vespers6 p.m. Sr. Division Speeches

Awards Ceremony Sunday, March 6th

immediately following LiturgyPlease come support our middle and senior high school

students as they share their speeches with us!

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Meet Our 2016 Parish Council

Robert Crosby

Karen Keese, Treasurer

Niko Poulos, Stewardship Chair

Gregory Walsh, Secretary

John Davis, President

Mark Lindgren

Steve Roth

Joe Weick

Erik Chosvig

Arthur “Ted” Deming

Demetri Mirras

Kent Taylor, Vice President

March 11 - 12, 2016 Fri: 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Sat: 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

(including lunch)

REGISTRATION REQUIRED Cost: $20 per person for 2-day session or Saturday ONLY $10 per person for Friday evening ONLY

The registration form and payment options can be found on the Parish website: http://stjohngoc.org/major-upcoming-events/ Please register no later than Friday, February 26, 2016.

For questions, text or leave a voice message for Sylvia at (503)399-0428 The Logos Bookstore will be open Friday evening and Saturday before and

after each of the retreat talks and during all breaks.

St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church - 14485 SW Walker Rd, Beaverton, OR.

You do not need to be married to attend, nor do you need to be Orthodox to attend.

All are Welcome!

Rev. Dn. Stephen Muse, PhD is a pastoral counselor and marriage and family therapist who serves as Director of Education and Training at the Pastoral Institute in Columbus, Georgia where he also directs the Clergy-in-Kairos program, a personalized week-long crisis intervention and intensive retreat for clergy (and spouse) renewal. Dr. Muse has taught and led professional workshops internationally and throughout the U.S. in areas of his specialties which include: Orthodox Christian spirituality, marriage as a spiritual path, healing from trauma, combat and moral injury, and care for the caregiver (clergy and helping professionals’ burnout). He is the author of Being Bread, Beside Still Waters, Raising Lazarus, and When Hearts Become Flame. Dn. Muse and his wife Claudia have four adult children, and three grandchildren.

A Talk and Conversation on Marriage with Dn. Stephen Muse, PhD

“Turning to Christ Together: Marriage as a Spiritual Path”

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Tickets available at www.stjohngoc.org and at the door. Bring your friends—all are welcome!

$15/person$50/familyFor chili, cornbread, slaw, dessert and a good time! Beer, wine and soda for sale.

Contestant Guidelines and

Registration available online.

Registration closes Sunday, Feb. 7th.

Join us for a family-friendly celebration of great food with a dash of competition. Beer, wine and soda for sale. Vote for your favorite chili and

play Heads or Tails to win cash prizes. Stop by for a bite or come for the whole evening!

Sunday, February 21, 20165-8 p.m.

The great St. John Chili Cook-Off

All proceeds go to the Building Fund to help fulfill our parish vision to build a Byzantine-style Orthodox Christian church and supporting facilities on Portland’s westside. Learn more at www.stjohngoc.org or scan here

St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church is at 14485 SW Walker Road in Beaverton, Oregon.

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DATESNACK

PROSFORA Loaves (delivered day before)

PARISH COUNCIL Greeters

CHURCHFLOW

ERS CLEAN-

UP ALTARBOYS

Monday,February1,2016MeetingoftheLord

Makarounis(2)

Sunday,February7,2016Patzke

Becker(4)/Downs(2)

Walsh/W

eickReiter

Hudanish/Muzik

Team6

TeamD

Monday,February8,2016St.TheodoretheGeneral

Hailey(2)

Sunday,February14,2016Rich

Wehlitz(4)/Blankenstein

(2)Poulos/Lindgren

BensonMirras/Stinm

anTeam

7Team

E

Sunday,February21,2016

ChanBarnes(4)/Poulos(2)

Lindgren/CrosbyBlankenstein

Poulos/BradenTeam

8Team

A

Sunday,February28,2016

BarnesMirras(4)/Davis(2)

Walsh/Keese

BeckerTrum

power/Chosvig

Team9

TeamB

Saturday,March5,2016

Duchow

‐Pressley(2)

Sunday,M

arch6,2016Walsh

Goldman(4)/M

akarounis(2)Chosvig/M

irrasChosvig

Makarounis/Patzke

Team10

TeamC

Saturday,March12,2016

Hailey(2)

Sunday,March13,2016

Weick

Poulos(4)/Becker(2)Keese/W

alshGoldm

anWilson

Team1

TeamD

Clean-up Team 1: Becker, Armstrong, Benson, Lowe, Whitton, Marine, Leslie, Mirras, Maletis Clean up Team 2: Wood, Barnes, Morgan, Powell, Stinman, Gillespie, Muzik, Poulos N & A Clean up Team 3: Cherry, Makarounis, Chiprout, Knight, Chosvig, Poulos J & P, Contes, Dorrance Clean up Team 4: Corazza, Trumpower, Buckley, Williams/Teeney, Soot, Ketrenos B & A, Dunfield, Gonzales, Ramzi Clean up Team 5: Walsh, Daniels, Hudanish T, Keese, Chan, Olson, Ntatsos, Kolpakov, Clary Clean up Team 6: Ketrenos J & K, Lubliner E, Lubliner D & J, Lubliner N, Goldman, Thienes, Tesfamicael, Taylor, Hatch Clean up Team 7: Gebrehiwot, Hailey, Jungwirth, Deming, Russo, Walters, Hall I, Stebner, Dale Clean up Team 8: Patske, Rich, McKenzie, Reiter, Downs, Ionescu, Walker, Hafez Clean up Team 9: Feyler, Jones/Kuchillis, Lindgren, Rush, Wehlitz, Solomon, Mansager, Crosby, Gebreeyseus Clean up Team 10: Wilson, Blankenstein, Hudanish P & J, Hills, Braden, Perlmutter N & D, Stovea, Breen

Team A: Samuel, Zacharias, Nathan, Elias, Gavin, Tasso Team B: Anthony, Christos, Stathi, Nicholas, Makarios, Nicolas Team C: Tobias, Kyle, Levi, Aiden, Thomas, Petros, Gabriel Team D: Demetrius Constantine, Athanasios, Basil, Wade, Owen, Simon Team E: Alexander, Gabriel, Yoas, Pavlos, Noah, Peter

Altar Boys Clean-Up Teams

6 7

Supper for 6

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Logos Bookstore

As you may have noticed, the “Introduction to Orthodoxy” table at the Logos Bookstore has been growing steadily in recent years and months. This is a truly beautiful time to be exploring Orthodoxy—whether as an inquirer or a “cradle” Orthodox who wants to dig a little deeper—

as more and more works are being written and/or translated into English. But this explosion of reading material may also prove a source of anxiety for many. I remember my own days as an inquirer. My initial questions were basic: “What is Orthodoxy? Where is it? What does it look like? Why haven’t I heard of it until now? What does the Orthodox Church believe? How is it different from other forms of Christianity?” I didn’t want a list of 10 books; I wanted one good book that would point me in the direction of what to read and do next. I have spoken to many other inquirers since then, and many of them say the same thing. We are all busy, and the books we choose to read are a sacrifice of precious time. So, whether you are an inquirer, already Orthodox or looking for a book to recommend to an inquiring friend—how do you choose a book that counts?

Despite the best efforts of authors and the demands of their readers, there

is no single, perfect introduction to Orthodoxy. Many different types of people come to the Church for many different reasons. One book might speak directly to the heart of one reader while it leaves another completely bored and unsatisfied. For that reason, I will present here two very different but reputable introductions to Orthodoxy and give a few of their pros and cons.

The standard text for many, many years has been Metropolitan Kallistos Ware’s The Orthodox Church. (It is so old, in fact, that you will find it under Met. Kallistos’ former name, Timothy Ware, in the bookstore.) This was the first book I ever read about Orthodoxy, and I found it incredibly helpful. Met. Kallistos’ approach is that of a “big picture” survey: academic, objective, structured and historical. The book could easily be used as a text book for a college introduction to Orthodoxy, and Met. Kallistos gives voice to both Eastern and Western views of things, as well as both “liberal” and “conservative” sides of many issues within Orthodoxy. The first half of the book is devoted to the structure and history of the Orthodox Church, while the second half covers basic theological issues such as Christology, ecclesiology, the Sacraments and prayer. So, if you or someone you know is more of a “left brain”-type or history buff who needs the basic framework of cold, hard facts before proceeding to a more experiential approach, this book might be a good place to start.

For those more intuitive “right brain”-types, however, Kh. Frederica Mathewes-Green’s new Welcome to the Orthodox Church is almost certainly the book read. If Met. Kallistos’ book is a classroom lecture, then Mathewes-Green takes the class on a field trip and guided tour of lived Orthodoxy. The approach is personal, conversational in tone, and experiential. The book is set up as a series of visits to a fictional Orthodox parish and is written in an almost stream-of-conscious style, as the author takes the reader by the hand and points out the various sights, sounds and smells that s/he

encounters as s/he first enters the church and subsequently attends different services throughout the liturgical year. Each experience along the way—from observing the candles when first entering the narthex, to the content of the chanting, to discussions with parishioners during coffee hour—opens the door for Mathewes-Green to explain aspects of theology, Church history and personal piety. The seemingly scattershot order of the topics may prove confusing to some, but by the end of the book the reader has encountered a vast (and surprisingly deep) tapestry of the richness of Orthodox life and worship. As much as I benefitted from Met. Kallistos’ book several years ago, I found this new introduction to be very refreshing and edifying. I have also heard from a recent inquirer that this was the first and only introduction to Orthodoxy that “made sense” to her.

In the final analysis, we are deeply blessed to have both of these

books—and a great many others. Each fits a certain need for a certain type of individual. I hope this little introduction to the Introduction Table has at least made it a little easier to decide which book is a good fit for you or someone you know. “Come and read!”

“Come and Read!” - An Introduction to IntroductionsBy Chad Marine