BELMONT CA 94002-1604 900 Alameda - Holy Cross Preschool · Tula Gieseker 652-4641 Paulette Clements 592-1594 GOYA (9 th-12 Grades) Spiro & Callie Makras 652-4797 Gary Brenner 592-4755

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CURRENTSMonthly Newsletter

September 2001

Church of the Holy Cross900 Alameda / Belmont, CA 94002-1604

(650) 591-4447 / fax (650) [email protected] / http://www.goholycross.org

I N S I D E

From the President .............. 6 A Great Greek Festival ....... 7Stewardship ...................... 10 Bookstore .......................... 13Science Corner V.............. 13 Church Directory .............. 15Fall General Assembly ..... 16 Youth Currents............. 18-24

Articles and ads for the NOVEMBER 2001 Cross Currentsare due on Friday, October 26.

WE STILL GRIEVE THE LOSSby Father Peter Salmas, Pastor

We still grieve the loss, destruction, and horror of September 11. It is,on the one hand unfathomable and, on the other, all too real. We on theWest Coast are bridged to the Eastern seaboard through the simple,horrific fact that our country has been attacked and fellow Americanshave been killed by people who have been deceived by the Evil One.These barbarians have twisted their religious teachings and transgressedand abandoned the statutes of their faith . . . for a selfish and egotisticalpurpose, to a truly repulsive end.

CROSS

page 2 - Cross Currents

ANGELOUDAKIA

K - 1st Grade Sophie Callas 345-1672Irene Koulouris 591-6976

KAMARI MAS

2ND –3RD Grade Georgette Dakis 345-0104Nick Taptelis, assistant 598-0401Ashley Brenner, assistant 592-4755

ASTARAKIA

4th – 6th Grades Lea Dakis 345-0104TA DELPHINIA

7th – 9th Grades Valerie Paraskevas 349-3626Victoria Najjar 593-2747

MELTEMIA

10th-1st Year College Larraine McBride 408-244-0436George Mitsopoulos 408-551-7669Maria Nicolacakis 701-0421

In our grief and disbelief we have turned to God and one an-other. That which seemed to separate one from another up to one dayprior to September 11 disappeared, revealing that we are all Ameri-cans. E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. We now stand united andare focused in our unity to provide comfort through prayers, donations,and actions for those who have suffered directly through this terribletragedy. As we comfort each other, for we have all lost, we are alsostrengthened because of our unity and common grief.

Early Tuesday morning I decided that a Paraclesis should beoffered in the evening. Quickly we sent messages, through e-mail, bytelephone, and through anyone who came to the office. My need forprayer was great, and I imagined the same was true for all of us. AParaclesis, a service of supplication and comfort, and a Memorial ser-vice for the many who lost their lives in this unprecedented attack,seemed only natural. I was truly inspired to see a few hundred parish-ioners gather that evening.

We gathered in God’s House seeking His comfort and strengthin our time of great sorrow and distress. We gathered again the follow-ing evening, although there were fewer in attendance. Again we gath-ered Thursday evening commemorating the Exaltation of the Holy Crossas well as the following morning and Saturday and Sunday. Each daywe offered prayers for all those who became the victims and for eachof us as citizens of this great nation.

A close friend in New York, Director of Pastoral Care at SaintMary’s Hospital for Children, wrote the following letter to the staff,patients and their families. I share it with you in hope that it will helpput this terrible tragedy in perspective and lift us both spiritually andemotionally. He writes the following:

September 17th, 2001

Dear staff, families and kids,

At 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday morning September 11th, our worldchanged forever. So many questions confront us now and so fewanswers are available.

Cross Currents - page 3

youth programs and introduced me as the Youth Director of the parish.I expressed how happy I am to be here at Holy Cross, and how much Iam looking forward to working with all of the youth, parents, and vol-unteers of the parish. Gary Brenner introduced the advisors of ouryouth groups, and then they had their first (short) meeting. While thechildren were gone, Chris Canellos presented the parents with a pro-posed plan to reward families who contribute to the church buildingproject. When the meetings were finished, dessert was served and adrawing was held, where three of our young people won $20 gift cer-tificates to Target.

If you were unable to attend this enjoyable event, or did notsign up to help at one of our youth events, you may contact me at thechurch office at 591-4447 or [email protected]. If you wouldlike to enroll you child(ren) in one of our youth groups, the advisorsare:

HOPE (1ST – 2ND GRADES)Vickie Buonocore 510-581-4661

JOY (3RD – 5TH GRADES)Jenny Kalaitzidis 261-9168Alesia Panagiotides 342-2496Patty Kane 728-2021

JR. GOYA (6TH-8TH GRADES)Tula Gieseker 652-4641Paulette Clements 592-1594

GOYA (9th-12th Grades)Spiro & Callie Makras 652-4797Gary Brenner 592-4755Hope Callas 345-1672

Meetings are every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month, starting at 7 PMand ending at 8:30 PM. Our dance groups have also begun practices.For information on when practices are, please contact the instructors ofthe appropriate group:


As I talked to people throughout our hospital these last few days,the questions on everyone’s lips were the same: How can people beso evil? Who is to blame, and above all, “Where was God?”

Questions are hard to answer in tragic times. But we ask themnonetheless. Nowhere are they asked more in Judeo-Christian Scrip-ture than in the Book of Job, a story that deals with horrible tragedy. Itis the chronicle of a good man, a “God-fearing man.” A man who “hasit all”; family, fame and fortune. Suddenly, without warning, his live-stock and servants are slaughtered by bandits. Then his family is lostin a freak accident when a mighty wind strikes the four corners of hishouse collapsing it on them.

It was swift. It was unwarranted. It was unconscionable.I have heard people who honestly have good intentions say that

the events of this past week were God’s will and we need to havefaith that something good will come out of this. They are wrong.

You cannot pin this one on God. We must learn what Job even-tually learned. That as good and as great as America is, we do nothave an exclusive and closed relationship with God. No one does.There is a third party at work in this world and he can intrude at anygiven moment. Satan and all the evil he inspires intruded into ourlives just as he intruded in Job’s.

Where then is God? Where is He when terrible tragedy befallsus?

Job asked the same question over 4 millennia ago. He finallygets his reply when God visits him out of a storm and answers himwith these rhetorical questions:

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tellme if you understand.

Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flow-ing mane?”

Job is silenced and he realizes he is only a man, that he couldnot possibly comprehend the meaning of the events around him.

Where was God this week? God was not in the cockpit of thoseplanes. He did not cause it to happen. I’ll tell you where God was. Hewas there in the last moments as loved ones called on cell phones tosay I love you. He was there in a fireman’s suit helping people downstairwells. He was there with a priest giving Last Rites to the dying.

Who is to blame? This is the work of evil men, not a vengefulGod.

Where is God? He is here. He is near the heart of all who in theface of this tragedy love their neighbor and turn to Him. God is in the


in print and/or art, how they have displayed the virtue in their own life, andwhat it means to them.

Other projects scheduled include making garden stones for HolyCross; creating prayer books and writing prayers; making Valentine’s,Mother’s and Father’s Day gifts; and constructing fun garden stakes that willbe given to the San Francisco Children’s Garden in the Arboretum. Projectsthat will be done with all Youth Groups combined (HOPE, JOY, Junior GOYA,and GOYA), include sponsoring a coffee hour to support the Heifer Founda-tion or other charities, volunteering at/touring the Second Harvest Food Bankin San Carlos, and participating in the San Francisco Zoo’s monthly weedingprogram and having a fun family day at the zoo thereafter.

For October’s project, we are having a children’s book drive. Pleaseplace your new or used (in good condition) children’s books in the large binlocated in the hall of The Oaks/gymnasium. During the October 9 JOYmeeting, the children will make homemade bookmarks with positive, kind,and spiritual messages on them, (October is the month for the virtue “Kind-ness”). The books and bookmarks will be donated to Samaritan House’sNeighbor helping Neighbor program.

If you have a child in the third, fourth, or fifth grades, please setaside time each month for your child to participate in JOY. If you have anyquestions, please contact Alesia Panagiotides at 650-342-2496 [email protected].

YOUTH CHOIR NEWS

If you are interested in joining this “mini-music-ministry,” and are in secondgrade or older, please call Youth Choir Director, Khara-Maria Salmas , at650-345-6830.

HOLY CROSS YOUTH KICKOFFby Simon Thomas, Pastoral Lay-Assistant

The Holy Cross Youth Kickoff Dinner on September 23 was a won-derful success. There was plenty of pizza, salad, and wonderful des-serts for the 200+ people who came. Fr. Peter spoke briefly about our


souls of those who look to Him, not for answers, but because in theend, tragedies teach us that we are mortal and dependent upon Him.

God Bless us, everyone.Michael MaroutsisDirector/Pastoral Care

Make no mistake. God is with us, as the Psalms so beautifully state.God is with us, as we learn in reiterating this psalm in the service ofGreat Compline. If God is with us, who can stand against us? Thesewords should ring in our minds and heart, not to lead us to combat butthrough our anxiety and fear. We pray that the Holy Spirit will guideand instruct our leaders, bringing to an end this horrific terror and en-suring our return to lives of peace. We pray that through Him ourefforts will bring about a better world in which to live, strengtheningus in faith and heartfelt commitment to live our lives as bearers of HisHoly Name.

A little girl asked her mother, “Mommy, why did people dothis terrible thing?” This is undoubtedly a question which we have allasked ourselves. There is no plausible reason that can be given toexplain why thousands of innocent lives were destroyed. Perhaps thisoccurred to bring about a fearful paranoia in hopes of throwing theworld into chaos. Satan loves chaos for it provides fertile soil in whichto sow the seeds of mistrust, anxiety and fear. Thus far it seems thatwe have withstood the temptation to fall into chaos.

In the weeks, months, and years ahead we will realize the greatchallenges that await us. It will take us a while to learn to put intoaction the necessary adjustments. Gone is the carefree nature of ourAmerican lifestyle. Developing a heightened awareness of how vul-nerable we all are will force us to become more careful, vigilant andsecure. Our President and his cabinet members remind us daily of thestrength of character and purpose we now must have in dealing withthis new and frightful enemy called terrorism.

We must pray that God will grant us the will and strength tomeet the sacred challenge before us . . . that challenge which beckonsthose of us who are Christians to live our lives as Christians, to walk asin His footsteps.


SUMMER 2001by Vanessa Craighead, GOYA, Youth Currents Youth Editor

With Fall beginning, I feel that I made the best of my summer 2001.On June 6th it was off to Disneyland and the new California Adventure Landwith my family. We stayed in Disneyland for four days and it was a fun-filled experience. Disneyland proved to my family and I to be the “HappiestPlace On Earth.” Soon, after a short vacation I had more plans for the rest ofmy summer. From June 18th to July 21st I attended Serra High School sum-mer school along with Mercy Burlingame High School summer school. AtSerra High School I took a history class and at Mercy I took an Algebra/Geometry class. I felt that I learned a lot in these two classes and that theywere worth taking.

After Summer School ended, it wasn’t long until my family and Iwere off on another vacation. From July 24th to August 1st we went to CaboSan Lucas, Mexico. We go there pretty frequently, but this time in Mexicowas my most memorable experience. My brother from San Diego and mybrother from Greece visited to make this trip to Mexico more exciting. Ienjoyed spending time with my brothers along with the rest of my family.Since Mexico, I have just been hanging out with my friends and getting readyfor school, which starts on August 20th.

My summer was full of vacations, friends, and family. Hopefully allmy summers to come are just as memorable as my Summer of 2001. I hopethat you all had a great summer!!

A JOY-OUS INVITATIONby Alesia Panagiotides, JOY Advisor

The Junior Orthodox Youth (JOY) Group meets the second and fourth Tues-day of each month, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. JOY is for children in the third,fourth, and fifth grades. The leaders of this group have a calendar full ofactivities and fun for the year.

As an overall project this year, JOY participants will be creating theirown “Book of Virtues.” Each month has been assigned a particular virtuethat will be discussed in our meetings. Children will be given affirmations totake home to remember to practice the virtue on a daily basis. Time will begiven when we meet, to create a page for their “Book of Virtues,” explaining


FROM THE PRESIDENTby Nicholas Peros, President of the Parish Council

School BeginsThis looks like a record year. Both Religious Education (Sunday School)and Greek School attendance appear to be reaching all time highs.

For the first time, our preschool opened completely full andwith a waiting list. We added an afternoon pre-kindergarten programthis year and it is full as well!

Congratulations to Semele Halkedis and Anastacia Stamates,Directors of Religious Education; Vaso Tonas, Theodora Kounalakis,Cleon Skourtis, of the Greek School; and Carlene Scheidtmann, ourPreschool Director, for providing the leadership that has made theseprograms flourish.

Exciting General Assembly Coming October 21st

Really! The Building Committee will present updates from EKONA,our architect, on the “schematic design”. The Iconography Commit-tee will update us on the latest shop drawings (beautiful colored illus-trations) and the schedule of activities. We will also review the pro-posed budget for next year. See the agenda, printed elsewhere in CrossCurrents for more details.

Our Parish Tithes … and MoreIt’s not often discussed, but 10% of our Parish’s income is given tosupport the Archdiocese and Diocese. Ministries supported by thesegifts include Saint Michael’s Home for the Aged, Hellenic College &Holy Cross School of Theology, the Patriarchate of Constantinople,etc.

In addition, Holy Cross also:- Gives a percentage of the Festival proceeds to a variety

of local charities such as the “Belmont Mayor’s FavoriteCharity”, Woman’s Shelter, Samaritan House, MissionHospice, and Interfaith Network for Community Help(INCH)


the morning if you are in the Central Valley). His grandparents emigratedfrom Greece at the beginning of the last century, changing our family namefrom Zisiathis to Thomas. My mother, Elaine Daniels, was born near Lon-don at the beginning of WWII to faithful Catholic parents. She moved toAmerica in the late 50’s while England was still recovering from the war.She married my father, and converted to Orthodoxy. Today, she lives in ElkGrove with her husband Art, who has also converted to Orthodoxy. Theyhave both been Hellenized, so you may call them Athanasios and Eleni Danielsif you would like. My brother Jason also lives and works in the Elk Grovearea.

Stephanie and I plan to be married on June 16, 2002, in Modesto.After the wedding, God willing, I will be ordained to the Holy Deaconate,and then to the Holy Priesthood serving the needs of our Holy OrthodoxChurch here in the Diocese of San Francisco.

So when you see a new face in the office, walking the grounds, orhelping in the Altar, that is probably me. Please be patient as I am learningall of your names and faces, and I hope to meet and get to know all of yousoon. I am excited to be here, and I am eagerly anticipating working andserving with all of you to the Glory of God and His Kingdom.

ACOLYTES

Serving in the Holy Sanctuary as an acolyte is a distinct honor and privilegethat is reserved for the dependable and mature young men of our community.There are a few young men enrolled in our Religious Education program, ingrades 6 thru 12, who have not been acolytes in prior years. We would like toextend an invitation to any of these young men to serve during the comingecclesiastical year.

Please keep in mind that along with this privilege comes responsibil-ity. You will need to make a commitment to be present in the Altar on theSundays that you are assigned, as well as in church during the of the Sun-days.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, do not hesitate tocontact either Simon Thomas , or Fr. Peter at 591-4447, or you may speakwith us after services on Sunday.


- Has an active Philoptochos, that also supports a numberof charitable institutions,

- Supports those in need through our Benevolence Fund,- Helps regularly at Samaritan House through their kitchen

ministry and our weekly collection of food, clothing andmoney,

- Has an active program of special collections for the Fam-ily-to-Family program at Christmas and many othercauses throughout the year.

Thank you, everyone, for helping make all these ministries and chari-table activities possible.

September 11th

…is a day none of us will ever forget. Many of us went to Church thatevening to attend the special Paraclesis Service for the victims in NewYork, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.

A Memorial Service immediately followed the Paraclesis. Asthe first few bars of the Memorial were being sung, our focus shiftedabruptly from the Theotokos to the innocent thousands who died. Itwas hard not to be overcome with emotion. May the victims’ memo-ries be everlasting and may their loved ones find comfort and peace.

A GREAT GREEK FESTIVAL

Our best and greatest Festival is behind us, and we are very grateful to ourLord and thankful for the Festival’s tremendous success. Thank you to allwho helped make this Festival the best ever.

A special thank you to Michael Orth who completed his FIFTHand final year as chairman. With his wife Stephanie expecting their firstchild, Mike says it is time to “hang up the Festival gloves” - at least for thetime being. Mike and Stephanie, thank you and may God grant you and yourfamily health, prosperity, and spiritual strength.



for two years, and after many internships at the UCD Med Center, I came tounderstand that the medical field was not for me. I decided to follow the paththe God had set for me, and I went to our Seminary at Hellenic College inBoston. I completed my undergraduate studies in 1997, receiving a B.A. inReligious Studies. I entered Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theol-ogy that fall, and I received a Masters of Divinity in 2000.

The following September, I left for Thessaloniki, Greece, where Ilived until this past May. I studied, and worked to improve my understand-ing of the Greek language, the services and the hymns of our Church. Whilein Europe, I visited my relatives in Athens (my father’s side) and in London,England (my mother’s side). I also traveled to Italy, where my fiancée wasstudying, Spain, Scotland, and Constantinople, Turkey.

My aforementioned fiancée is Stephanie Ronson, also from the An-nunciation Parish in Modesto. She is completing her studies in the field ofGraphic Design at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. She will bevisiting the parish periodically during the year, when she can get away fromher studies.

My father is Dave Thomas (no, not the guy from the Wendy’s com-mercials!). He is a radio talk-show host in Modesto (KFIV 1360 AM, 6-9 in

s Stephanie and Simon


YOUTH CURRENTSSeptember 2001 edition

Grow in the Grace and knowledgeof our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18

WHAT’S NEW AT HOLY CROSS?by Simon Thomas, Pastoral Lay-Assistant

If you noticed something a little different at Holy Cross recently, you weren’tjust imagining things. I have accepted the parish position of Pastoral Lay-Assistant. My first day was August 1st, and I look forward to working withmany of you in the coming year. With God’s help, we will continue to buildupon the foundation that has been laid.

I was born in Fresno, CA on June 11, 1975, but moved to Modesto in1978 (yes, another one from Modesto!). I grew up in the parish of the An-nunciation, where I was very active in the youth groups. I was an acolytefrom the age of ten, and continued to serve in the Altar through high schooland into college. I was a member of JOY for two years, and of GOYA forfour years. While in GOYA., I was treasurer for two years, and president forone year. I also participated in the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival in1993, advancing to the S.F. Diocese Festival at Saint Nicholas Ranch.

I was a member of the dance group in Modesto for 8 years. I dancedfor a total of 7 years with the Young Athenians, Diaskedasi, Meraklithes, andthe Patriots. While I was with those groups, we won 1 Sweepstakes Award,1 Second Place, 1 Fourth Place, and 3 Costume Awards. I also Directed theSpartans for two years, winning 2 First Place Awards.

I have spent numerous summers at our Diocese Summer Camp at St.Nicholas Ranch. I had so many wonderful experiences as a camper that Ireturned to the Ranch as a Counselor during the 1995, 2000 and 2001 Sum-mer Camps. I also was a Counselor at our Archdiocesan Summer Camp atIonian Village in 1998.

When I graduated from Fred C. Beyer High School in Modesto in1993, I enrolled at UC Davis as a pre-med major. However, after studying


THE STEWARDSHIPOF SAINT PHANOURIOS - AUGUST 27

This and the following article are parts of a continuing series on Stewardshipsent to us by the Archdiocese’ Stewardship Ministry office. Additional articlesmay be found at their website - www.goarch.org.

We also apologize for “losing” the August issue of Cross Currents - the first timewe have missed printing an issue in over ten years. In recognition of that lostissue, we include August’s Stewardship article in this issue . . . the saint justhappens to be Saint Phanourios.

"A spiritual man is the man who shares in the graceof God, who is a participant in divine life. Or to ex-press it in Palamite terminology, a spiritual man is acreated man who shares in the uncreated grace ofGod." Giorgios I. Mantzarides

Life's journey for the Christian Orthodox steward maybe expressed in a variety of experiences, but each stew-ard must walk that narrow road to the Lord. In thesoul's quest for holiness' we seek union with Godthrough theosis. This union enables the steward to loveGod with his whole heart, soul, and mind, and one'sneighbor as oneself.

According to Christian Orthodox teaching,authentic Christian living requires a synergy, cooperation, between the Christianand God. The synergy that takes place does not mean that God does half thework and the Christian the other half. It does mean that while God does all thework necessary for our salvation, the Christian responds freely and completelyto God. There can be no intimate union with God if our own will is not surren-dered and conformed to the divine will.

In our study reflecting the Stewardship of the Saints we recognize manyChristian stewards who have distinguished themselves and continue to be verypopular among the faithful people of God. St. Phanourios is a saint who, thoughhis life story is unknown, is well known and venerated by our Church. We arenot sure when or where he lived or what he accomplished. What we do know isthat he is greatly respected on the islands of Rhodes and Crete. Whatever else weknow is taken from studying his icon.

9. New BusinessA. 2002 Budget – Chris CanellosB. Nomination CommitteeC. Election CommitteeD. Selection of Auditors

10. Adjournment & Closing Prayer



First, we must learn how the icon of St. Phanourios came about. Theisland of Rhodes was invaded and pillaged by foreign intruders. As these male-factors looked for treasures among the rubble of one of the churches they haddestroyed, they came across a number of icons that were in decay, except forone. That one icon appeared as if it had been written that day. The invaders gaveno significance to this icon and left it with the rest. Watching the events from ahidden vantage point, a group of monks observed what had happened. When itwas safe, the monks went to the church and retrieved the icon dedicated to St.Phanourios. Upon inspecting the icon, they became visibly moved by what theysaw. Bordering the icon were twelve scenes depicting the persecution that thesaint had suffered. The monks desired to learn more about the life and martyr-dom of St. Phanourios, but their research proved unsuccessful. Only the iconremained as a witness to the life of this saint who remained steadfast in his faith.There is one story about the saint that does remain. It is said that his mother wasa great sinner who refused to accept Christianity. Saddened by her decision todeny Christ, St. Phanourios prayed fervently for his mother's salvation. Whilehe was being tortured and about to surrender his soul to God, St. Phanouriosprayed: "For the sake of these my sufferings. Lord, help all those who will prayto You for the salvation of Phanourios' sinful mother." Lost and forgotten formany years, the recovery of the icon is the reason that St. Phanourios is knownas the patron saint of lost things.

Reviewing the lives of the saints enables us to realize the holiness of lifethat they have lived in a stewardship that transforms the world. Though ourdeeds and efforts may be largely unknown by many, it is our faith that will berevealed for eternity. By managing the resources that God has given us, that is,our Time, Talents, and Treasure, as those saintly Christian stewards exemplifywhat it means to be Christian Orthodox. Let us pray that St. Phanourios inter-cede in our behalf so that we too may have the faith to be obedient stewards ofChrist and His Church.

THE STEWARDSHIPOF SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNA- SEPTEMBER 9

Much of the life of the Virgin Mary has been revealed to us from a book knownas the “Protoevangelion of James.” Although not considered a canonical book ofHoly Scripture, it contains vital information pertaining to the life of the VirginMary. From this book we also learn about the parents of the Virgin Mary, Ss.Joachim and Anna.

at 345-8981.o Thanks to those who served in the Samaritan House Food Line in Au-

gust and September : Edie Christoforidis, and John and ViviSarantitis. Anyone, as a representative of Holy Cross may serve - weusually go the third Friday of the month. If you are interested, pleasecall Vivi Sarantitis at 697-3739.

o Yianni’s of Burlingame has immediate openings for evening work (serv-ers, kitchen, etc. Ideal for college students home for the summer. Noexperience necessary. Will train. Please call Jack at 347-2088.

o Khara-Maria Salmas is happy to announce that she is offering VoiceLessons for anyone desiring to know the joy of singing. (650) 345-6830.

FALL GENERAL ASSEMBLYPROPOSED AGENDA

The following is the proposed agenda for the next General Assembly meet-ing. Join us on Sunday, October 21 immediately following Divine Ser-vices. All active members of the Church of the Holy Cross are encouraged toattend. The minutes from the previous Assembly will be available in theNarthex before the Fall Assembly.

1. Call to order & Opening Prayer2. Selection of GA chair3. Approval of minutes of previous meeting4. Pastor’s report - Fr. Peter5. President’s report - Nick Peros6. Treasurer’s report - Chris Canellos7. Committee Reports

A. Stewardship – Tanya SpirtosB. Festival - Mike OrthC. Audit -D. Building - Chris CanellosE. Iconography – Jim Smith

8. Old Business



reasoning power, faith, hope, love, charity, compassion, conscience, etc. Yes,perhaps we have fellow Christians in many places of the universe, and we are allin the same fold under one Shepherd. It is a warm thought. Unfortunately, I feelit is very unlikely that we will ever be able to communicate with each other! Thedistance between two solar systems is just too great, especially between thosethat might contain intelligent life.

OFFICE HOURS

Church office hours will revert to the usual Monday through Friday, 9 AM to5 PM effective immediately. As usual, PLEASE call before coming to theoffice to conduct church business. PLEASE leave a message on our newvoice-mail system during off-hours.

2001-2002 CHURCH DIRECTORY

After a LONG hiatus, a new church directory is in the offing.A change this time around is that we will not include a business “Yel-

low Pages” section as such but we will happily make note of any donations tooffset printing and mailing costs. Also new, if you’d like, we will print fam-ily or individual cell-phone numbers or e-mail addresses. If you wish to haveyour cell phone number or e-mail address posted alongside your street ad-dress and phone number, please e-mail the church office [email protected].

Only pledging members will be included in this directory - if youcurrently receive Cross Currents, you will most likely be listed in the direc-tory. (PLEASE be sure your pledge is CURRENT.) Also, if you will bemoving soon, please let us know your new address or any impending changes.Donations or any changes, additions or comments regarding the directoryshould be sent in as soon as possible.

NEWS & NOTES

o Thanks to the ladies who participated in the Samaritan House Kitchenin August and September. The next preparation dates are October 10and 16 (the second Wednesday and third Tuesday of each month). Pleasejoin us if you can. Interested parishioners should call Edie Christoforidis

It is important to study this saintlycouple for we gain a good understanding ofthe environment in which the Virgin Marywas born. St. Joachim was of the tribe ofJudah and therefore, a descendant of KingDavid. Anna’s family was derived from thetribe of Levi and her father was the highpriest Nathan. She also had two sisters:Mary, whose daughter was Salome andZoia, whose daughter was Elizabeth, themother of St. John the Baptist.

Ss. Joachim and Anna lived piouslives obedient to the teachings of the OldTestament. Whereas the Old Testament pre-scribed that God’s people should give a tithe(10%) to the Temple (See Leviticus 27:30-34), these saintly people gave one-third of their income to the poor, one-third to the Temple, and one-third wasspent on their livelihood.

Unable to bear children, Ss. Joachim and Anna prayed fervently thatGod bless them with a child. One day they each received a visit from the angelof the Lord who informed them that God had indeed heard their prayer and thatit would be granted.

Speaking to Anna, the angel said: “Fear not . . . For I am that angel whohas offered up your prayers and alms to God, and am now sent to you, that I mayinform you, that a daughter will be born unto you, who shall be called Mary, andshall be blessed above all women . . .”

Rejoicing over this wonderful news, they went to the Temple to offerpraise and thanksgiving to God. When their daughter was born nine monthslater, they offered the child to the Lord and promised to dedicate her to theTemple at the age of three years old. In the Temple, the Virgin Mary was rearedin prayer and fasting. Her parents visited her every day until they finally died, St.Joachim at the age of eighty years and St. Anna at seventy-nine.

Christian Orthodox parenthood must be viewed in the light of Steward-ship. This beautiful opportunity to study the lives of Ss. Joachim and Anna re-minds us that in Christ, we are all one family. God has placed upon us the re-sponsibility to raise our children in the best possible manner. To some parentsthis may be understood by providing financial security for their children.

To others, it may be found in providing a good education. While theseare both worthwhile, are they the most important things in life? Of course, weshould not neglect the necessary financial needs of our families and we shouldencourage our children to get the finest education, but there is something greater.



(the distance between our sun and the orbit of Jupiter) near the end of its life.The water vapor in the images either resulted from the vaporization of planetarywater or cometary ice by the enormous heat of the expanding stellar material.

Astronomical observations reveal that stars evolve in a predictable man-ner from their birth to their death. The only elements produced in the big bangwere hydrogen, helium, and traces of lithium, beryllium, and boron. All theheavier elements were, and are, produced by nuclear reactions in stars wherelighter elements burn (fuse together) to form heavier elements. After Stars useup their nuclear fuel, they die. A Star that has an initial mass less than about 8Solar masses brightens 1000 to 10,000 fold, and balloons to the size of the orbitof Earth, or even Mars, during its death throes. Later its inner core collapses toform a White Dwarf Star, and its outer shell blows off to form a Planetary Nebula.Our sun will take this course in about 5 billion years; before it dies it will expandto engulf Venus or Earth.

A Star that has an initial mass greater than about 8 Solar masses has amuch more violent death: it explodes as a Supernova. Its core suddenly col-lapses to form a Neutron Star, or a Black Hole, and its outer portions expand intothe interstellar medium at speeds of thousands of kilometer per second. Eventu-ally, this streaming stellar material turbulently mixes with interstellar gases, form-ing Supernova Remnants. Within a day or two, the exploding star becomes brighterthan a billion Suns! About 150 Supernova Remnants have been detected in ourgalaxy, the Milky Way, and more than 100 per year are being discovered indistant galaxies. We should pray that a Supernova will not occur near Earth!

The CW Leonis observations principally peaked my interest becausethey show that water, which is regarded to be an essential ingredient of life, mayhave been present in the planets orbiting this star. Most scientists believe thatlife forms, even intelligent life, exists on many planets in the universe. After all,there are billions of stars in our galaxy alone. We have seen the birth of manystars. They are formed by the precipitation of Supernova Remnants. Planets areformed in the same manner. Proof that the planets of our Solar System wereformed from Supernova Remnants is that the planets are composed of elementsheavier than hydrogen. Nearly all these elements: carbon (even as diamondcrystals), oxygen, silicon, silver, gold, lead, uranium, etc., were made in thestars. Our bodies are composed of stardust! It is not unlikely that a planet muchlike Earth exists and contains intelligent life.

Jesus said (John 10:16), “And other sheep I have which are not of thisfold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be onefold, and one shepherd.” Could Jesus be alluding to human beings on other plan-ets of the universe? Perhaps they too were made in God’s image. They probablywould not look like us, but even people on earth often differ significantly inappearance. God’s image must infer more essential attributes of human beings:

Christian parents will be successful if they educate their child accordingto the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Family participation in thelife of the Church will instill the Christian virtues that are necessary to be happyand content with life. Perhaps it is for this reason that when the Dismissal Prayeris offered in almost every divine service of our Church, we commemorate Ss.Joachim and Anna as a reminder for Christian Orthodox parents to be faithfuland obedient to the teachings of our Lord.

THREE HIERARCHS MID-PENINSULAORTHODOX BOOKSTOREAND RESOURCE CENTER

It has only been a few months, yet our Bookstore has become a very busy centerfor our parish. A new shipment arrived in time for the Festival and our weeklyoperations, so come see our wonderful selection of books, CDs, cards, icons,incense, vigil lights, gift items, and beautiful crosses, pendants, and weddingcrowns. We’ve added many children’s books, CDs, and cards to our inventory.The store is also an excellent source for gift items for namedays, birthdays, bap-tisms, weddings and anniversaries.

The bookstore is open Saturday evenings after Great Vespers; Sundaymornings after Divine Liturgy and Wednesdays from 4 to 6 PM. BookstoreVolunteers - If you are interested in serving as a volunteer for our bookstore,please contact the church office.

SCIENCE CORNER 5by John B. Cladis, Ph.D., Nuclear and Space-Plasma Physics

A fascinating discovery was reported re-cently in the journal Nature: a huge quan-tity of water vapor was detected in a dis-tant envelope surrounding a dying Starcalled CW Leonis! Images of the star andthe water vapor were obtained with the Sub-millimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite.These observations are extremely interest-ing because they confirm a part of our theory of stellar evolution and may implythe presence of water on the planets orbiting CW Leonis! As predicted by stellarevolution theory, CW Leonis ballooned to a radius of about 5 astronomical units

s SWAS


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BELMONT CA 94002-1604 900 Alameda - Holy Cross Preschool · Tula Gieseker 652-4641 Paulette Clements 592-1594 GOYA (9 th-12 Grades) Spiro & Callie Makras 652-4797 Gary Brenner 592-4755