St. Sophia/Ss. Faith, Hope & Agape GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF VALLEY FORGE Special points of interest: Sights and Sounds 2014. Spring 2014 Grecian Festival. Inside this issue: President’s Message 2 Additions to Iconography 2 Philoptochos 3 Senior Parea 3 Youth Ministries 4, 5 Stewardship 6 Greek Dance Groups 8 Sponsorship Items Update 10 Bricks and Pavers 11 Community Registry 12 Upcoming Services and Events 13 Community Newsletter Spring 2014 Volume 2, Issue 1 “This is the Day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” This verse from the psalm is chanted as part of the Service of the Resurrection. The feast of Pascha is the feast of feasts that celebrates the vanquish- ing of sin and death through the life giving Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The New Day, the Day of Resurrection, ushers in a new and joyful meaning to our lives as faith-filled Christians. This New Day shows us the triumph of Christ over the devil. His victory is a victory for all of us. We celebrate this New Day through joyful sing- ing and celebration in the church and in our homes. This New Day is celebrated in the church for Forty Days as we sing and greet one another with the words, “Christ is Ris- en!” We verify and hold true that statement in responding “Truly He is Risen” This New Day is celebrated with magnif- icent feasting with friends and family with tables full of fel- lowship and food. “No one goes away hungry...” as St. John Chrysostom says in his catechetical homily of Pascha. The celebration of this New Day should not end with the Feast of the Ascension. It must carry on throughout the whole year both in the Church and in our daily lives. This New Day is celebrated each and every Sunday. The hymns of Orthros and the Liturgy are all about Resurrection. We celebrate the living God, not one made of statues or paint- ings, but the Lord of Life, the everlasting God, the one who created us and the one who calls us back, the God of Abra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob and of us all. This New Day should be pro- claimed each and every day. We should proclaim it through our faith, our actions and eve- ry ounce of our being. We must proclaim it through our love for all peoples. Our will- ingness to forgive those who wrong us must also be fol- lowed with the humility to ask those whom we have wronged for forgiveness. This New Day is celebrated by our love for our fellow man, by promoting peace and harmony, and let- ting the Light of God radiate through us. We must triumph over hate, gossip, gluttony, greed, indifference so that this New Day may be bright, victo- rious and never ending. “This is the day that The Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” Father Peter Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
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Transcript
St. Sophia/Ss. Faith, Hope & Agape
GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF VALLEY FORGE
Special points of interest:
Sights and Sounds 2014.
Spring 2014
Grecian Festival.
Inside this issue:
President’s Message 2
Additions to Iconography 2
Philoptochos 3
Senior Parea 3
Youth Ministries 4, 5
Stewardship 6
Greek Dance Groups 8
Sponsorship Items
Update
10
Bricks and Pavers 11
Community Registry 12
Upcoming Services
and Events
13
Community Newsletter
Spring 2014
Volume 2, Issue 1
“This is the Day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
This verse from the psalm is chanted as part of the Service of the Resurrection. The feast of Pascha is the feast of feasts that celebrates the vanquish-ing of sin and death through the life giving Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The New Day, the Day of Resurrection, ushers in a new and joyful meaning to our lives as faith-filled Christians.
This New Day shows us the triumph of Christ over the devil. His victory is a victory for all of us. We celebrate this New Day through joyful sing-ing and celebration in the church and in our homes. This New Day is celebrated in the church for Forty Days as we sing and greet one another with the words, “Christ is Ris-en!” We verify and hold true that statement in responding “Truly He is Risen” This New Day is celebrated with magnif-icent feasting with friends and family with tables full of fel-lowship and food. “No one goes away hungry...” as St.
John Chrysostom says in his catechetical homily of Pascha.
The celebration of this New Day should not end with the Feast of the Ascension. It must carry on throughout the whole year both in the Church and in our daily lives. This New Day is celebrated each and every Sunday. The hymns of Orthros and the Liturgy are all about Resurrection. We celebrate the living God, not one made of statues or paint-ings, but the Lord of Life, the everlasting God, the one who created us and the one who calls us back, the God of Abra-ham, Isaac, and Jacob and of us all.
This New Day should be pro-claimed each and every day. We should proclaim it through our faith, our actions and eve-ry ounce of our being. We must proclaim it through our love for all peoples. Our will-ingness to forgive those who wrong us must also be fol-lowed with the humility to ask those whom we have wronged for forgiveness. This New Day is celebrated by our love for our fellow man, by promoting
peace and harmony, and let-ting the Light of God radiate through us. We must triumph over hate, gossip, gluttony, greed, indifference so that this New Day may be bright, victo-rious and never ending.
“This is the day that The Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
Father Peter
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
To Our Stewards and Friends,
With the long-awaited arrival
of spring and now summer
fast approaching, there are
many opportunities for all to
get involved in what St. So-
phia Church has to offer.
We welcome all who would
love to worship with us in our
new Byzantine church. Even
with the arrival of summer
and its respite from Sunday
School, each week presents a
new opportunity for you and
your children to continue to
learn more about your faith.
Our annual Spring Festival
beginning May 28 to June 1 is
an important event; our great-
est fund raiser of the year and
a way to help your church by
volunteering your time and
talent. It is also another form
of outreach to our community.
In addition to food and fun,
all who visit will have a chance
to learn more about Ortho-
doxy.
Of course we continue to
make progress with the
church building itself. This
past February our icono-
grapher, Dr. George Kordis,
completed the hand-painted
icons on our icon screen, Pul-
pit and Bishop's Throne. In
addition new murals on the
western walls were completed.
New marble mosaic medal-
lions have just arrived and will
be installed later this summer.
We are also working on a plan
for new narthex furnishings
which we hope to order just as
soon as funds are available.
Many of these items are avail-
able for sponsorship. Please
consider doing so, as our pro-
gress would not be possible
without your continued sup-
port for which we are truly
grateful.
Sincerely,
Dean W. Laskaris Parish Council President
President’s Message
the Virgin and Christ child, St.
John the Baptist, St. Sophia,
Ss. Faith, Hope and Agape,
and the Archangels Michael
and Gabriel. The Beautiful
Gate (often mislabeled as the
Royal Doors) is decorated
with the image of the Annun-
ciation and the symbols of the
Four Evangelists which are:
The Angel (St. Matthew); The
Lion (St. Mark); The Ox (St.
Luke); and The Eagle (St.
John).
The Bishop’s Throne has the
icon of Christ the High Priest.
In this icon we see Christ vest-
ed as a hierarch and holding
an open Gospel book that
says, “I am the Good Shep-
herd.”
The Pulpit has the image of
Christ surrounded by the four
evangelists. This is done be-
cause it is where the word of
God (Christ), given to us by
the evangelists, is preached
and the sermon which ex-
plains the word is given.
The Western Wall has the
icons of the birth of the The-
otokos, the dormition of the
Theotokos, the icons of St.
Anna, St. Joachim, St. John of
Damascus, and St. Kosmas,
the Poet.
The Gallery Wall was finished
off by adding the icons of No-
ah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
surrounding the image of the
Anapeson (Christ at Rest).
Additions to Our Iconography
This past winter we once
again added to the beauty of
our Naos (church). Dr.
Kordis, Kanellos, and Panag-
iota were back again this past
February to paint the new
icons of the Iconostasion, the
Amvon (pulpit) the Bishop’s
Throne, the Estavromenon
(the crucified Christ) the Gal-
lery Wall and the Western
Wall of the Nave.
The icon screen has the prom-
inent icons of Christ,
Page 2 St. Sophia’s
Each week presents a
new opportunity for
you and your children
to continue to learn
more about your faith.
Dr. Kordis, Kanellos
and Panagiota
were back again
this past February
to paint new icons.
Xristos Anesti! Our Philopto-
chos membership drive for
2014 surpassed our 2013
membership by signing up 53
members. Keep in mind,
Philoptochos isn’t just about
meetings, fundraising and
writing checks to charities; it’s
about using your God-given
talents to enrich the lives of
those less fortunate. Make
2014 the year you truly be-
come a "friend of the
poor". Make a choice to be-
come a member or associate
(men) member of Philopto-
chos. Embrace the opportuni-
ty to live Christ in our daily
lives and practice our Ortho-
dox Faith. Your membership
and our fundraisers help to
fund our donations to various
National, Metropolis, local
and international charities.
Thank you all who helped
prepare and attended the Jan-
uary Vasilopita & Breakfast,
Godparent Sunday Lumber-
jack Breakfast, Go Red Soup &
Sandwich and the Cheesefare
Cheese Pockets (Tiropites)
fundraisers over the past few
months. The highly anticipat-
ed Palm Sunday Luncheon
had 200 parishioners and
friends of St. Sophia join in
Christian fellowship to enjoy a
delicious meal on Palm Sun-
day.
Some of the projects our ladies
have supported so far this year
are St. Basil Academy, St. Pho-
tios Shrine, Orthodox Christian
Mission Center/Support a Mis-
sion Priest, Hellenic College
Holy Cross, Sisterhood of St.
Basil Academy, IOCC,
Sole4Souls and Laurel House.
We are sincerely grateful for
the continued support of our
community which enables us to
carry on our philanthropic
work.
We thank all the Philoptochos
members who have volun-
teered in the past and continue
to serve so willingly and tire-
lessly. We look forward to our
Senior Parea
Our Senior Parea group wel-
comes all senior citizens of the
community. The Cultural
Center is open for fellowship
every Thursday from 10 am to
12 noon.
Recently, the Senior Parea
went to the Regal Cinemas to
see the movie “Son of God.”
Please contact the Parish Of-
fice for more information or
come out and join in the fun
and fellowship.
Page 3 Spring 2014
new members joining us in our
labors of love. Philoptochos
needs your time and talents.
Thank you and looking forward
to seeing you at our next meet-
ing!
“And whatever you do, do it
heartily, as to the Lord and not
to men, knowing that from the
Lord you will receive the re-
ward of the inheritance; for
you serve the Lord Christ.”
Col 3:23-24
Kathy Tsipras Philoptochos President
St. Sophia Ladies Philoptochos Society
“Pistis, Elpis & Agape”
Sights and Sounds 2014
On Saturday, March 29th the 29th Annual GOYA Sights and Sounds Arts Festival was hosted by
St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Media, Pennsylvania. Our parish was well represented
and won several awards:
Senior Dance Group: 1st Place—Small Group division
Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen! We joyously celebrated the triumphant Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ a few weeks ago. It was wonderful to see the church so full for Holy Week and Pascha. We also welcomed many visitors this year—it was terrific to see so many new faces as we celebrated our third Pascha in our new church.
Orthodox Christian Stewardship is a way of life that acknowledges accountability, reverence, and responsibility before God. A primary goal of Stewardship is to promote spiritual growth and strengthen faith. Becoming a Steward begins when we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust and act on those beliefs. As Stewards, we affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewardship calls on the faithful to cheerfully offer back to God a portion of the gifts with which they have been blessed.
True Stewardship begins with giving of our time-especially by attending services regularly—as well as volunteering (sharing our talents). God has blessed us all with many talents. We have many ministries that could use yours! There is always much to do. Your service is much appreciated!
From a financial perspective, our Stewardship contributions support all of our various ministries and pay our bills. Based on the budget approved by the Fall General Assembly, we need to achieve an average Stewardship giving of $2,080 per family ($40 per week), to fund the day to day operations of our parish (over $400,000 per year).
Did you know that it costs us about $1,200 EVERY DAY, 365 days a year to run our parish? That does not include principal payments to our mortgage and other building related expenses.
We would like to thank everyone who has supported our parish thus far in 2014 with your Time, Talent and Treasure. If you have not yet become a steward for 2014, there is still time! Cards are available at the Pangari, in the Hall or by calling the Parish office at 610-650-8960.
God Bless you for your support of our parish and His ministries!
“A Rich Man is not one who has much but one who gives much.
For what he gives away remains his forever.” - St. John Chrysostom
AHEPA Bus Trip
Byzantine Art Exhibit
In February, the Valley Forge AHEPA sponsored a bus trip to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC to see the exhibit
“Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections.” In the first-ever exhibition of Byzantine art at the Gallery, some
170 works of art, many never before lent to the United States, were on view—among them mosaics, icons, manuscripts, jewelry,
and ceramics. The works included newly discovered and unpublished objects that reveal the rich and multifaceted culture of
Byzantium.
Ceramic plate, late 12th–early 13th century 6th-7th Century Gold Bracelet
Stewards of Saint Sophia’s 2014
Mr. & Mrs. James Agrian
Mr. & Mrs. Eron Ahmeti
Mr. & Mrs. Harold Anagnostopoulos
Mrs. Tessie Arapolu
Mr. and Mrs. George Argiris
Mr. & Mrs. Nick Argyropoulos
Mr. & Mrs. Don Avgerinos
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Bachman
Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Bailey
Mr. & Mrs. Eustratios Bananis
Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Bannon
Mrs. Calliope Bavelas
Mrs. Frieda Bell
Mr. & Mrs. Angelo Bragitikos
Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Bratic
Mr. & Mrs. James Caravoulias
Mr. & Mrs. Elias Christou
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Collias
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Colyvas
Mr. Alex Colyvas
Mrs. Betty Cooper
Mr. & Mrs. George Coutavas
Thomas & Catherine Cox
Miss Maureen Curcio
Mr. Eric DeLapp & Miss Persefoni Tiliakos
Mrs. Marie A. DelViscio
Mrs. Iris Demas
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Dimitriadis
Mr. Alex Donatelli & Miss Christina Sheridan
Mr. & Mrs. Steve Dowzicky
Mr. Athanasios "Saki" Evagelou
Ms. Eleni Evangelopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. George Evangelopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. Kosmas Fotiadis
Mr. & Mrs. David Gaskin
Mr. & Mrs. A. George Gazonas
Mr. & Mrs. Nikolaos Gianginis
Mr. Kosma Gianginis
Mr. & Mrs. Harry Giannakarios
Mr. & Mrs. Charles Godfrey
Mr. & Mrs. Erik Gross
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Guano
Mr. & Mrs. Art Happas
Dr. & Mrs. Constantine Harris
Ms. Vela Hatzipavlides
Mr. & Mrs. Harry Hatzipavlides
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hatzipavlides
Mr. & Mrs. Garry Holstein
Ms. Konstantina Hronis
Mr. & Mrs. Evangelos Kakos
Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Kaldes
Mr. & Mrs. Andreas Kamaratos
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Kamateros
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Kane
Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Karabots
Mr. & Mrs. Christos Karagiannopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. George Karagounis
Dr. Omiro Karalis
Mr. & Mrs. John Karistinos
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Karros
Miss Laura Katsafados
Mr. Harry S.(Bob) Keares
Ms. Evangelia Klapakis
Mr. & Mrs. Bart Kline
Mr. & Mrs. Konstantinos Kontroubis
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Koser
Mr. Haralambos Kourtidis
Mr. & Mrs. Nikolaos Kourtidis
Mr. & Mrs. Timothy Kusniez
Mr. & Mrs. Chris Lafakis
Mr. & Mrs. Philip Laskaris
Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Laskaris
Mr. & Mrs. Dean Laskaris
Mr. & Mrs. Ioannis Lathiris
Mrs. Eleni Lazoglou
Mr.& Mrs. Kyros Leondis
Mrs. Effie Liacouras
Miss Aphrodite Liantis
Mr. Nicholas Liantis
Drs. Anthony & Maria Limberakis
Dr. & Mrs. Cary Limberakis
Mr. Mike Lopez and Miss Maria Thornberg
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Lowry
Mr. William Mackrides
Mr. & Mrs. Harry Mackrides
Ms. Irene Malagari
Dr. & Mrs. Paul Matsiras
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Migdalias
Mrs. Mary Moukoulis
Mr. & Mrs. George Mylonas
Ms. Phidella Natale
Mr. & Mrs. William Neatherly
Mr. & Mrs. George Neofotistos
Ms. Annemarie Nicholas
Hon. William & Catherine Nicholas
Mr. Alexander & Dr. Marianne Nikas
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Nikolaou
Mr. George Nikolaou
Mr. & Mrs. Serafim Notaras
Mr.& Mrs. Anthony Pantazopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. Harry Papadakes
Ms. Sophia Papadakes-Frangakis
Mr. & Mrs. John Papadimitriou
Mrs. Evelyn Pappanastasiou
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Patukas
Dr. & Mrs. Peter Patukas
Mr. & Mrs. Chris Pavlou
Mr. & Mrs. James Peoples
Mr. and Mrs. Aram Piligian, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. John Pogas
Mr. & Mrs. David Poloway
Ms. Maggie Popesco
Mr. George Prieston
Mrs. Margie Prousi
Dr. & Mrs. Andrew Prousi
Mr. & Mrs. Rami Richie
Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Ruser
Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Sabia Jr.
Mr. Dimitri Samaras
Mr. & Mrs. John G. Samaras
Mr. & Mrs. Constantine Samios
Miss Catherine M. Sandilos
Drs. William & Elaine Sandilos
Mr. & Mrs. George P. Sarianos
Mrs. Margaret Callipolites Scandalios
Miss Christina Shiomos
Mr. & Mrs. Sam Sinoimeri
Mrs. Sofia Sitsis
Mr. & Mrs. Philip Sitsis
Mr. Konstantinos Sitsis
Mrs. Anna Skylakon
Drs. Charalambos & Melpo Solomides
Mr. & Mrs. Nicholaos & Yvonne Sotiropoulos
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Soutos
Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Stern
Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Stolarczyk
Mr. & Mrs. Keith Swope
Matushka Aniela Sydek
Mr. & Mrs. Vasilios Tatsis
Dr. & Mrs. Vassilios Theodorides
Miss Alexandra Thomloudis
Mr. & Mrs. Ilias Thomloudis
Fr Peter and Presb. Katherine Thornberg
Dr. & Mrs. Arthur Topoulos
Mrs. Anna Trantas
Ms. Linda Tripolitis
Mrs. Shirley Tripolitis
Mr. & Mrs. Nikolaos Trontsios
Mr. & Mrs. Socratis Tsipras
Mr. & Mrs. Seraphim Tsipras
Ms. Katherine Tsipras
Ms. Maria Tsipras
Mrs. Irene Tsokas
Mr. Nikolaos Tsouros
Mr. & Mrs. Anastasios Tzivekis
Mr. Peter Tzivekis & Miss Donna Thompson
Ms. Helene Vellios
Mrs. Anastasia Ververelli
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Watts
Mr. & Mrs. Charles Whitson
Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Williams
Mr. & Mrs. Roger Witt
Mrs. Ita Zaferes
Mr. Gregory Zarcone
Mr. & Mrs. Charles Zarcone
Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Zavitsanos
Dr. & Mrs. George Zavitsanos
Thank you to all of our Stewards for sharing your Time, Talents and Treasure!
WE NEED FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS! Our Spring Grecian Festival is 1 ½ weeks away. Thousands of dollars (for supplies, ingredients, advertising, etc…) have already been spent towards this event, not to mention the countless hours of planning and preparation that are necessary. In order to have a successful festival, we need YOUR help to organize it and to ensure that it runs smoothly. We need the help of everyone -- young or old – for as much or as little time as you can offer. The indoor restaurant will be open Wednesday through Sunday, Mykonos by Night each evening from Thursday to Sunday, and the tent from Friday evening through Sunday. Please take a moment to review the available volunteer slots, and sign up for as many as you are able. All help is appreciated! To sign up, go to: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C044FAAA72AA20-stsophia8/10610254 If you don’t want to sign up online, please take a moment to sign up on the Volunteer Sign Up Sheet that was mailed to your home and bring/send it in as soon as possible. It is important that we know who is coming so that we can best plan for this very important event of our parish.
Spring 2014 Grecian Festival
St. Sophia’s Greek Dance Groups
St. Sophia’s Asteria Greek dance groups have
proudly represented our church at several
events over the past several months.
The Senior Dance Group won 1st Place in the
Small Group division at Sights and Sounds
earlier this year.
While the children have fun learning the danc-
es, they and their instructor, Carnation Karros
have worked hard preparing to represent our
parish. Please come enjoy the groups’ perfor-
mances at our Spring Festival and let them
know how much you appreciate their efforts.
During the summer the dance groups will take
a well deserved break. But they will be back in the fall for more fun, fellowship and performances. If you are interested in partic-
ipating and would like more information, please contact Carnation Karros at 215.917.5014 or [email protected].
Religious Bookstore
The religious bookstore has many religious books and articles as well as gift items for children. Please take a moment
to stop by the bookstore during Coffee Hour on Sundays. If you are looking for an icon that we do not carry, please
speak to Aram Piligian (at the bookstore) or call the Parish office and ask Elaine about placing a special order.