Summer is here! - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Americaschgoc.hi.goarch.org/assets/files/2016/June2016Bulletin2.pdf · 1 Summer is here! VOLUME 25 NUMBER 6 June 2016 Dearest Spiritual

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Summer is here!

VOLUME 25

NUMBER 6

June 2016

Dearest Spiritual Ohana,

Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of

you a wonderful Summer!

The last two months have been

very eventful for our Cathedral.

From April into May, we

experienced the celebration of

Holy Week and Pascha as well

as the Feast Day of our Patron

Saints Constantine and Helen. I

would like to thank everyone for

their generous donations toward

items needed for these special

days and to all who participated

and offered their talents to make that time of the

year so special.

I take this time to convey congratulations to all of

our High School Graduates, including: Stephanos

Banasihan, Nate Chu, Alexander Hwu, Eu-nae

Mann and Nicholas Tortora! What wonderful young

people they are! On Sunday, May 22nd, our

Graduates were honored by our Sunday School with

Orthodox Study Bibles and gifted with scholarships

from Philoptochos. The President of our

Philoptochos, Alma Chu, delivered very beautiful,

heart-felt, personal and moving remarks about each

one of our Graduates.

Now that we approach the conclusion of the

Paschal Season and enter into the summer months,

let us continue to rejoice in the Lord’s constant and

boundless Love and Mercy He bestows upon us!

Never forget all He has done for us and still does

for us!

The 2016 Great Lent, Holy

Week and Pascha was most

memorable and meaningful to

me and must have been to many

of you too, personally! We had

the Blessing to have in our

midst, not just once, nor twice,

but three times the Holy

Theotokos of Iveron Icon during

Great Lent, specifically at the

3rd Salu ta t ions to the

Theotokos, at the 5th Salutations

to the Theotokos (Akathist) and the 5th Sunday of

Great Lent when we commemorate St. Mary of

Egypt! This is such a vivid and “in your face”

reminder that God, the Virgin Mary, the Angels and

the Saints are very real especially in a time when

the world is so filled with darkness, confusion,

natural disasters, blurred lines for what is right and

what is wrong, etc.

We need to experience the Glory of God through

Great Lent and Pascha, yearly, so that we do not

ever forget Him! In a brief conversation with

Reader Nectarios, the Keeper of the Holy

Theotokos Icon of Iveron, I mentioned to him that

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“it must be quite a heavy responsibility to be Her

keeper.” Reader Nectarios related to me the words

of his Spiritual Father, Elder Ephraim, regarding the

great responsibility. He said, “My Spiritual Father,

Fr. Ephraim told me that ‘the temptation is to get too

comfortable having Her in your presence.’” In other

words, one must never take the Blessings and

Miracles from God for granted nor to allow Them to

become common place!

So, likewise, we should never take what our Lord

has done for us for granted! Living in the Nation of

the United States, the “Land of Liberty,” we cannot

forget that true freedom, liberty and joy come from

our relationship with God and not to be mistaken for

“doing whatever we desire,” void of His Presence.

For when we follow our own selfish desires, we do

not become truly free or happy but become quite the

opposite: bound and left always finding a way to fill

a bottomless void which can only be filled with

God’s Loving Presence. For our Lord Jesus Christ

Himself says: “I am the Way, the Truth and the

Life...” (John 14:6)

With Love in Christ,

+Fr. Alexander

(Continued from page 1)

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:

[email protected]; [email protected]

[email protected] Parish Web Site:

www.greekorthodoxhawaii.org/

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

Rev. Father Alexander Leong

Church Staff Shelli Landeryou - Office Coordinator Roni Katsikas - Interim Bookkeeper

2016 Parish Council Maria Naval - President

Andrew Tujios - Vice President Roni Katsikas - Treasurer

Christina Dimitrion - Secretary Dr. Michael Dimitrion, Cleopatra

Kritikos, Nicholas Kyriakakis, Regina Mass & Austin Vali.

Sunday School Director Presbytera Nicole Leong

Sunday School Teachers Alice Malick, Andria Schindler, Maria Naval, Alma Chu, George Kalantzis,

Shawn Chu, Dimitri Nicholas, Mindy Scordilis & Jeanie Stavrue Pe’ahi

Philoptochos Board Alma Chu, President; Anita Akel, Vice

President; Marina Saikevych,Treasurer; Alice Malick,Recording Secretary;

Valentina Yarovaya, Corr. Secretary; Harriett Medes, Advisor

Choir-Chanters Orest Saikevych, Music Director

Gregory Malick, Protopsaltis

Parish Ministries Stelio Scordilis, Aloha Youth Choir; Laura Emerson, Bookstore; Dianna

Graves, Greek Dance Groups; Stelio Scordilis, Greek School; Julie Ličina

Web Master; Anita Higashi, Facebook

Thank you to those who offered donations items and their service for Holy Week.

Greg and Alice Malick - Flowers for the Bridegroom Icon

Vicki Shiroma - Coordinate Decorating of Tomb

Carlos & Elaine Moreno - Paschal Candle

John & Eres Eddy - Agape Picnic Ted Anastasopoulos

Catherine Bukes John & Dina Giannakopoulos

Dianna & Barry Graves

John & Patricia Kiladis

Michael Klimenko

Cleopatra Sarah Kritikos

Fr Alex & Pres Nicole Leong John Levas

MaryAnn & Paul Mallis

Christopher & Jeong Sook Mann

William & Regina Mass Marc & Maria Naval

Dionisios & Keiko Nicholas Anzinetti Rezents

Thalia Tuohy

Dimitri Xixis

Valentina Yaravoya

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WEEKDAY SERVICES IN JUNE ASCENSION (VESPERS 6:30 P.M. ON WED. 6/8) THU. 6/9 ORTHROS/LITURGY 8:30/9:30AM

SATURDAY OF SOULS Sat. 6/18 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30am

MAUI SERVICES Sat 6/25 Liturgy 10am

APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL Wed. 6/29 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30am

SYNAXIS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES Thu. 6/30 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30am

Upcoming Opportunities for Worship & Learning

Moms and the Orthodox Family

We invite all Moms and Grand-mothers to join in fellowship every Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to Noon, in the Social Hall.

When there is Divine Liturgy or any other services on Tuesday mornings, the fellow-ship will take place after services.

Let’s gather and discuss and share what Orthodox Christian Moms face and Moms and the seek in bring-ing up their children in the Orthodox Church and Home. Come and join in fellowship

Note: Moms and the Orthodox Family meetings and fellowship will resume, once again, on Tuesday, June 7.

Adult Religious Education

Sundays, Noon to 12:45 pm, following coffee hour

(See weekly bulletin for updates)

Fr. Alexander is concluding a Ten Point Program for Orthodox Life Series on various Sundays of the month. The topic for Sunday, June 12th is “Reading Scriptures and Holy Fathers.”

JUNE PARISH COUNCIL TEAMS

5 Tina Dimitrion

12 Andrew Tujios

19 Regina Mass

26 Cleopatra Kritikos

Please remember in your prayers: Ted Anastasopoulos

Dina Giannakopoulos

Suzanne Keyser

Julie Licina

Alice Malick

John Mitsis

& All Those Who need our Prayers

LITURGICAL LIFE OF OUR PARISH

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Our Philoptochos Ladies

take a day every other

month to prepare the

Prosphora to be used for

the Divine Liturgy. Here

are some facts about

prosphoro.

C D u r i n g t h e

Consecration of the

Holy Gifts of the bread

and wine, when the

p a t e n c o n t a i n i n g

p o r t i o n s o f t h e

prosphoro and the

chalice containing the

wine are lifted, the priest calls out: “Your own of Your own we

offer to You, in all and for all”

C Experienced prosphora bakers will tell you that the baker is

transformed by the prosphora, that the effort opens us to God and

invites Him to transform us. The idea of transformation is central to

bread baking. Prosphora preparation begins with just four

ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. Looking at those

ingredients, you know that a transformation is coming, because this

doesn’t look anything like bread. Our Lord gives us all things. He

gives us wheat, water and wine. We take things from the earth that

He gives us and offer them back to God. We take part of the

possessions that God has given us and return them to Him.

C Prosphoro.(Gr. "offering gift, an item dedicated to God and

offered as a votive," prosphora in the plural). The altar bread which

is leavened and prepared with pure wheat flour to be used for the

Eucharist. It is round and stamped on the top with a special seal

(sphragis or Panagiari). Sometimes it is made in two layers

symbolizing the two natures of Christ (Human and Divine). The

inscribed parts of the top are used for the Eucharist, and the rest of it

is cut into small pieces to be distributed to the faithful as

“antidoron” which means “instead of the gift.”

C Where did we get this flour? God created wheat; He created all

the plants. We take the seeds and we plant wheat in our fields, and

we care for it. God gives us seeds and fertile soil, and He rains

water and shines warm sunlight, and it grows. As farmers, we

cooperate with God to create these beautiful crops, which feed and

nourish us. We then offer a small amount back to Him “…we offer

to You, in all and for all.”

Share your news! Greek Festival Volunteers

We need more

volunteers than

we have church

members so in

addition to

signing up

yourself we encourage you to ask

friends if they would like to help.

Greek Festival August 27 and 28

–Noon until 9pm

To volunteer please see Anita

Higashi or send an email to

[email protected]

Monthly Bulletin

announcements that you would

like to see in the July issue of

Shorelines should be submitted

to the church office by June

15th. Email office

@greekorthodoxhawaii.org, call

521-7220, or drop by with a hard

copy of your requested

announcement.

Weekly Bulletin announcements

should be submitted by

Wednesday afternoon for the

following Sunday.

Maui Orthodox Christian

Mission reminds those who

attend services on Maui to visit

www.mauimission.org or call

617-838-7904 to verify services.

or look for other activities that

may be posted.

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Sunday School resumes in September. Please check

future bulletins for summer

events, news and next year’s

school schedule.

We had our graduation and promotions on May 22. Congratulations to all of our graduates.

Photos Courtesy of Chris Mann

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Some new and exciting new

items are available in the Gift Shop. Many of the

devotional items can support you in your

personal or family prayer life (relationship with

God) and in deepening your journey into the

heart of Orthodoxy. Check them out!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Are you interested in the history of Orthodoxy

in the Hawaiian Islands?

During the month of June, the Gift Shop will

be taking pre-paid orders for the paperback book

entitled, "Two Hundred Years on the Road: A

History of the Orthodox Church in Hawaii," by

Amir Khisamutdinov and Rev. Anatole Lyovin

(priest of the Russian Orthodox Church in

Honolulu). Each eighty-eight page book is $20

(no markup), and all proceeds will be used to

support the Russian church's mission. A sample

copy will be available for your perusal in the Gift

Shop during June, and the books can be picked

up the first week in July in the Gift Shop. Checks

should be made out to "The Russian Orthodox

Community of Hawaii."

We thank you for your support of the Gift Shop!

Congratulations to our two Dance Group High

School Seniors, Eun-ae Mann and Nicholas

Tortora who have been dancing since they were

about five years old.

We will miss them but wish them Good Luck

in their college endeavors.

Recycle HI 5 for the Dance Group, see Dianna.

Benefit Concert Sunday July 10, 2016 by Taso

Comanescu, guitarist (Dina/John's grandson) at

church see additional information in this

bulletin. Tickets available soon…

Election Fundraiser time again-Volunteer for

the Primary or General Election or Both.

Do a civic duty and get paid for it. Donate

the stipend to the Dance Group.

Invite a friend to do it with you or meet

people there.

You must be 16 yrs-adult. Deadline to

volunteer for the Primary Election is

7/14/2016.

See Dianna Graves for details

Sign up at https://go.elections.hawaii.gov/

signup/

Scheduling an Event?

BEFORE scheduling meetings, parties, or any other event at church–social hall, kitchen, or office rooms, PLEASE be sure to clear your event with the Church Office at least 2 weeks in advance. Doing so will ensure that our facilities are available for all to use, as well as prevent confusion and double-bookings.

Rental forms must be completed by anyone wishing to use our facilities–organization, member or non-member.

Learn Greek In addition to our classes after Sunday School, the following classes are on Monday Evenings:

Elementary 5 pm, Advanced Youth-Adults 6-8pm

Dance Group News Book Bites

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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 Suzanne A. or 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.

C

O

F

F

E

E

H

O

U

R

Thank you to our May Sunday Coffee Hour sponsors!

John & Eres Eddy Family (Agape Picnic)

The Kritikos Family

Peter Hwu

The Mann Family

The Kalantzis Family

Congratulations to our

Woman of the Year for 201617

Mrs. Anita Akel-Soileau! She

is a well-deserving parishioner, a

devoted Philoptochos member

for many years, who is

passionate about helping

Philoptochos fundraise

for our local, metropolis

and national charities.

Anita has spearheaded

the task of making and

packing bentos of our Greek

pastries for the Greek Festival

and for sale to benefit

Philoptochos charities, as well as

chaired the pastries booth at the

Greek Festival.

She has a heart for helping

women and children in crisis

such as the Windward Abuse

W o m e n ’ s S h e l t e r a n d

Ho’olanapua (A New Life for

Our Children) which is building

a therapeutic center for underage

girls on the Windward side

who have been recovering

from human trafficking.

Desp ite being a busy

professional with a health

insurance company, she

also is an avid runner, a

ballerina and a very good

cook. She is married to

Stu, is vice president of

our Philoptochos board,

and those who know her

can’t help but be affected by her

boundless energy and spunk.

Congratulations, again, Anita!

Singariteeria!

Also, I would like to thank

Anita Higashi for getting the

eggs, Tabitha (Mimi) Elliott and

Tina Yarovaya for cooking and

dying the eggs and Presbytera

Nicole for packing the eggs for

Pascha. Thank you to all who

donated funds. EFXARISTO!

Philoptochos News

Personally, I would

like to thank the

following for their

part in helping with

the Palm Sunday

fish luncheon:

~Alma Chu

Lucy Tujios

Harriet Medes

Suzanne Akiona

Tina Dimitrion

Despina Shive

Regina Mass

Keiko Nicholas

Rhoda Banasihan

Marina Saikevych

Julie Sormack

Barbara Gribbon

Anita Higashi

Anita Akel-Soileau

Tina Yarovaya

George Kalantzis

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Our Vision: To be a beacon of Orthodoxy in the Pacific and proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all people in accordance with the Orthodox faith

Our Mission: To proclaim the

Gospel of Christ to all people in accordance with the Orthodox Faith.

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.

Aloha Youth

Choir Rehearsal

Sundays at 8:30, right before Liturgy, downstairs at the office.

Youth who would like to join and sing with the choir at the festival, please come to the rehearsal, or communicate with Stelio the director.

The program is a mix of sacred hymns, folk and greek pop songs.

Don’t miss your opportunity to hear the performer behind these reviews…

…great performance. As solid as I’ve ever

heard…

…Wonderful show! Everyone loved it and

thought that it was excellent and very interesting

…He is an exciting guitarist. His enthusiasm for

the music and talent for performing shows in the

way his audiences have received him.

…In an increasingly generic guitar world, Taso

Comanescu emerges as one who stands out…

…What I appreciate most about Taso is his

dedication … attention to detail, colorful

interpretations, understanding of the music …

willingness to explore new ideas…

…his charisma and passion for music is obvious

in every single note that he plays.

TASO COMANESCU 2:00 pm Sunday, July 10,

Chirgotis Social Hall 930 Lunalilo St. Honolulu

Tickets: Adults $15 Children 5 to 12Yr $5

A Concert to Benefit The Aloha Youth Choir and The Nisiotes Dancers of Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral